


The Story of the Shadow Sorcerer

by DarkRoseTales



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24371971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkRoseTales/pseuds/DarkRoseTales
Summary: The Story of the Shadow Sorcerer - Elizabeth Potter changes her name and more with some welcome assistance and moves to the United States. What would happen if a super powerful Witch was involved with some of the tales of the Avengers? Goes through all the Iron Man and Avengers films (In-progress)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	The Story of the Shadow Sorcerer

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter, Marvel, or any other fandom’s mentioned.**

**Welcome to my fanfiction The Story of the Shadow Sorcerer, featuring my take on a female Harry Potter. This will be an introductory chapter then follow the Iron Man and Avengers films (I might end up discounting some of the other movies because of how much I change the story).**

**~*8*~ Scene Break**

**_Italics_ ** **Thought/Memories/Writing**

**The actress I see playing my version of a female Harry Potter is Ashley Greene.**

**Introduction**

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she stood outside the Hogwarts infirmary, her hand hesitating over the handle. It had only been a few hours since the final battle and the majority of the people who had been injured had been treated and sent on their way. She knew her concerns might be beyond Madam Pomphrey’s skill level but she didn’t know or trust anyone from St. Mungo’s to go to them instead. It had taken her this long just to get away from everyone to get up here, it was ridiculous. Swallowing, she gripped the handle tightly and for the first time in her entire existence she willingly entered the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomphrey looked up from where she stood organising her potions cabinet and nearly dropped the vial in shock when she saw who stood there. “Miss Potter, whatever is the matter?”

“Hi, erm... Madam Pomphrey is there anywhere we can talk where it’s completely secure?” Elizabeth stuttered, she didn’t really know where to begin but she also couldn’t risk being over heard.

“Of course dear, my office is secure” Madam Pomphrey assured, looking extremely worried about her young charge “Not even a portrait”

“Thanks” Elizabeth sighed as she followed the healer into the small room. The office held a small desk to one side of the room and a comfortable looking couch on the other. She sat on the couch after a gesture from Madam Pomphrey who pottered over to her desk.

“Would you like some tea dear?” she said as she made herself a cup with a few drops of calming draft. Here was a girl who had never willing set foot in her domain, she was terrified what could possibly be revealed and needed the extra assistance to remain calm enough to best help.

“Just water please” Elizabeth said with a weak smile.

“Here you go dear” the healer said as she handed over a glass of water before she sat on the other side of the couch and turned to face her charge “What was it you wanted to discuss Miss Potter?” she asked, her panic soothed with a sip of her drink, although she wasn’t entirely sure whether it would be enough.

“Ok. Erm...” Elizabeth started twisting her fingers anxiously in her lap “First I need you witches oath that nothing I say will be revealed to anyone else” seeing the look on the healer’s face she quickly added on “Please Madam Pomphrey, I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t necessary”

“I don’t have a problem with it my dear but my oath as a healer would prevent me from discussing anything about you health anyway” Pomphrey explained.

“It’s not all about me” Elizabeth admitted.

“Very well” Madam Pomphrey said as she took out her wand and held it up “I, Healer Madam Poppy Pomphrey, do hereby swear on my magic to never reveal any information I gain from Miss Elizabeth Potter during this meeting” the tip of her wand lit up signalling the oath taking effect before she pocketed her wand and retuned her attention to the young girl.

“Thank you” she sighed “Ok, as you are probably already aware, before he died Dumbledore gave me a job to do. Voldemort had created several Horcruxes” here Madam Pomphrey gasped and her eyes widened in horror “I see I don’t need to explain anymore about what exactly those are. Dumbledore thought I would be able to find them and obviously I have and they all have since been destroyed but during Snape’s death in the Shrieking Shack he gave me his memories and I discovered why exactly that was the case. On the Halloween my parents were killed Voldemort had already made 5 Horcruxes and because of the instability of his soul when the killing curse rebounded a piece of his soul latched onto me, specifically behind my scar”

Madam Pomphrey looked horrified as her gaze wandered up to the scar she knew the girl hated.

“The only way to stop Voldemort was to go to him and let him kill me” she carried on her explanation wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible “So I did and the fragment of soul died giving me the opportunity to return. Now I was hoping you would be able to help me discover if it has been doing anything since it’s been there. If it’s... tainted me in some way” she ended in a whisper.

Madam Pomphrey nodded deeply concerned for the girl who had already given too much for the world before she took a deep breath and said “Of course my dear, I will do everything I can. I will just go and set you up with a private room, I want to do a full scale diagnostic which can tell us everything we need and then I will begin healing as much as I can. I think you’ll be with me for a couple of days at least and I imagine you need the peace”

Elizabeth’s shoulders sagged with relief as Madam Pomphrey rubbed her back reassuringly. “Thank you” she said with tears in her eyes as everything started to catch up with her.

“I’ll come and get you once the room is set” Madam Pomphrey said as she stood summoning a box of tissues for her to use “Take all the time you need dear” before she left the room.

She didn’t know how long she sat there allowing her tears to finally run free down her face. Everything was circling around her mind, every encounter she had with Voldemort seen in a different light after the revelation that Dumbledore had essentially set her up to die. The one person she had trusted to keep her safe had been planning her death all along. Everything that had happened in the war and the faces of all those they’d lost appeared in her minds eyes making her heave with gasping sobs as it all crashed down on her at once.

Her only consolation was they had managed to save some; Remus and Tonks were safely hidden away with her parents after she had convinced them to leave the country, Fred had been a close call but she had managed to summon him and Percy out of the way when the giants had started to attack the school before Grawp intervened, Lavender Brown was scarred like Bill Weasley after her confrontation with Fenir Greyback but thanks to the quick spell work from the man himself she would live and Colin Creevey had been sent back inside by McGonagall to help with the wounded if he was so insistent on staying.

A quiet knock followed by the door opening broke through her thoughts. Looking up she saw Madam Pomphrey enter with a pair of hospital Pyjamas. Quickly wiping her face on the remaining tissues she stood up clearing her throat roughly as she did.

Madam Pomphrey handed over the pyjamas and gestured for her to follow her. She was led across the hall from her office to another room as she explained “These are our private rooms. They very rarely get used but they have a bed and an attached, fully equipped, bathroom that I thought would work for right now” opening the door she pointed to a door and said “I’ll let you get cleaned up and relax for an hour or two, my personal house-elf Mipsy will get you anything you need, but I would like you to try and eat something. I’ll come back and we will give you a sleeping draught while I run all the diagnostics I need. It will make you sleep at least until morning and we will go from there”

“Thank you, Madam Pomphrey” Elizabeth smiled weakly. A nice hot shower and some food sounded perfect right now.

Madam Pomphrey gave her one last reassuring smile before she left the room, she had thing she would need to prepare in order to help the young woman as much as she could.

Taking a deep breath she spoke aloud to the room “Mipsy” she called. There was a quiet ‘Pop’ and a small female house elf stood before her waiting to see how she could help “Hello Mipsy, my names Elizabeth, could you possible bring me some food. Something light as my stomach isn’t used to eating full meals at the moment”

“Of course, miss, Mipsy will be right back” the little elf nodded.

“Please can you put it on my bedside under a heating or preservation charm. I’ll probably still be in the shower when you return” Elizabeth quickly asked before she could pop away.

“Of course, miss” the little elf smiled and popped away to do as requested.

Elizabeth groaned and started to remove her clothes promising herself she would burn the outfit at the first opportunity. She winced as all the aches and pains made themselves known, she entered the bathroom, determined to scrub every speck of dirt off her body. It had been 9 months since she had been able to have a proper shower and she was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

~*8*~

Two hours later she was feeling refreshed and well fed, sat on the bed she was lazily sipping at her cup of hot chocolate as she waited for Madam Pomphrey to return. She sighed as she let her mind wander, it was strange, Voldemort had been such a prominent feature of her thoughts for so long that it felt like there was a gaping hole left in his wake. She was unsure what she was going to do with herself now everything was said and done, she felt a little lost.

A quiet knock interrupted her musing “Come in” she called through the door and Madam Pomphrey stepped in with a tray of potions, a quill and a roll of parchment. Elizabeth put her now empty cup on her side table before she lay down on the bed.

“OK, Miss Potter, I’m going to go through everything I will be doing while you are asleep before you take the sleeping draught” seeing her nod of agreement she started to explain before picking up the vial of purple potion from her tray “Once you have taken the sleeping draught I will be spelling this potion into your system. It is one part of a two part potion based diagnostic spell that is used usually in abuse cases”

At this point Elizabeth interrupted “Erm… with it reveal everything that’s ever happened to me?”

“Yes Miss Potter. It provides a complete medical history” Madam Pomphrey replied raising her eyebrow in askance.

Elizabeth sighed “I don’t think you’re going to like what you find” She may have been in the infirmary many times throughout her Hogwarts years but she had never undergone a full diagnostic. A lot of what she had gone through at the Dursley’s had been a very well kept secret but it appeared it was all about to be revealed.

Madam Pomphrey felt a sense of dread as she continued her explanation “The second potion requires a drop of your blood after the first potion has been ingested to link them together. The second potion is then poured over the quill and left to be absorbed for an hour which is how long the combined potions take to complete the medical history. I will return then to set up the parchment, which is self growing, and the quill, after a quick spell, will write out a full medical history divided into categories in chronological order all the way from birth to the present day. I will lock down the room as a precaution after this part and retire for the night. In the morning I will return and the potions should have done their job by then. We will then discuss where to go from there”

Elizabeth took a deep breath and shuffled slightly to get herself into a comfortable position for sleeping “Ok I’m ready”

Madam Pomphrey handed her the small vial of luminescent purple potion, Elizabeth immediately pulled the cork and downed it as quick as she could to avoid the taste. The effect was immediate, her eyes drooped and she felt Madam Pomphrey gently removing the vial from her lax hand before she knew no more.

~*8*~

Elizabeth groaned as she came too. The sun was shining brightly through the sheer curtains of the hospital wings private room she was currently staying in. It had been a long time since she had such a good night sleep. Looking to the side she spotted the rolled up piece of parchment with the quill lay stationary at its side. She sighed and looked away, there was nothing to be done now, she would just need to weather the fall-out.

A soft pop echoed through the silent room, and the House-elf Mipsy appeared before her. “Good Morning, miss, would you like some breakfast?”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile at the little elf “Yes, please something light”

The little elf bobbed her head before popping away again. Not a moment later she was popping back in with a tray containing a bowl of porridge topped with some fruit and honey, accompanied by a glass of apple juice and a cup of tea.

“Thank you Mipsy” Elizabeth said with a smile before asking “Can you inform Madam Pomphrey that I’m awake”

“Of course miss” Mipsy squeaked before popping away to do as asked.

Elizabeth sat up and dug in to her breakfast with gusto, she felt starving but found she was only able to eat about half of the provided bowl before her stomach started to protest. Sighing she set her tray to the side before relaxing against the headboard with her tea.

A quiet knock and a call to enter later and Madam Pomphrey entered with a smile “Good Morning miss Potter” she greeted “Let’s take a look at the results then shall we” she said as she conjured herself a chair and reached for the rolled up parchment and started to read:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Patient Information:_

_Name: Elizabeth James Potter_

_DOB: 31 st July 1980_

_Gender: Female_

_Blood Status: Half-Blood_

_Residence:_

_4 Privet Drive – Surrey – London (Former)_

_Parents:_

_James Potter (Father - Deceased)_

_Lily Potter (Mother - Deceased)_

_Sirius Black (Godfather/Blood-Adopted Father - Deceased)_

_Guardians:_

_Mrs. Petunia Dursley (Aunt)_

_Mr. Vernon Dursley (Uncle)_

_Height/Weight:_

_5ft 2” 96lbs_

_Immunisations:_

_Black Death (Given at 6 months old)_

_Dragon Pox (Given at 6 months old)_

_Mumblemumps (Given at 6 months old)_

_Wizarding Flu (Given at 6 months old)_

_Blocks:_

_Master Healer Block (Block 50% of magical core – Performed – 31 st July 1980)_

_Metamorphmagus Block (Performed – 30 th July 1981)_

_Occlumency/Legilimency Block (Performed – 4 th June 1992)_

_Scars:_

_Forehead (Cause – Avada Kedava – 31 st October 1981)_

_Burn on Arm (Cause – Muggle Gas Hob – 6 th February 1987)_

_Back and Legs (Cause – Belt – Repeatedly – 1986 - 1991)_

_Right Elbow (Cause – Basilisk Fang - 29 th May 1993)_

_Left Forearm (Cause – Knife - 24 th June 1995)_

_Top of Right Hand (Cause – Blood Quill – Repeatedly Sept 1995 – May 1996)_

_Left Forearm (Cause – Dagger – 30 th March 1998)_

_Chest (Cause – Avada Kedava – 2 nd May 1998)_

_Internal Damage:_

_Malnourished – Long periods of Starvation_

_Eye-Sight – Genetic_

_Poor Immune System – Malnutrition and Poor Living Conditions_

_Stunted Growth – Malnutrition and Poor Living Conditions_

_Mental Trauma – Soul Fragment_

_Magical Depletion – Soul Fragment_

_Slight Nerve Damage – Cruciatus Curse_

_Badly Healed Broken Bones – 1986 – 1991_

_Potion:_

_Minor Doses of Sleeping Draught (31 st July 1980 – 31st October 1981)_

_Soothing Draught for Teething (31 st January 1981 – 31st October 1981)_

_Magical Restorative Draught (4 th June 1992)_

_Skele-gro (8 th November 1992)_

_Polyjuice Potion (25 th December 1992)_

_Regeneration Draught (7 th November 1993)_

_Essence of Dittany (24 th November 1994)_

_Pepper-Up Potion (24 th February 1995)_

_Anti-Venom (24 th June 1995)_

_Nerve Regenerative Potion (24 th June 1995)_

_Essence of Dittany (24 th June 1995)_

_Dreamless Sleeping Potion (24 th June 1995)_

_Essence of Dittany (4 th October 1995)_

_Dreamless Sleeping Potion (18 th December 1995)_

_Headache Draught (6 th January 1996)_

_Felix Felicis (21 st April 1997)_

_Polyjuice Potion (1 st August 1997)_

_Sleeping Draught (2 nd May 1998)_

_Spell Damage:_

_Avada Kedava (31 st October 1981)_

_Imperius Curse (14 th November 1994)_

_Cruciatus Curse (24 th June 1995)_

_Cruciatus Curse (24 th June 1995)_

_Imperius Curse (24 th June 1995)_

_Cruciatus Curse (30 th March 1998)_

_Avada Kedava (2 nd May 1998)_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time she had reached the end of the parchment her eyes were full of tears and only the tight control she had over her magic, through years of practice, was stopping it from lashing out. She looked over at the girl sat on the bed who was distracting herself by pulling at the covers. Clearing her throat she caught her attention and started to speak “First things first, did you ever tell anyone about your treatment at the Dursley’s?”

“I tried to tell people in Surrey when I was younger but no one believed the delinquent niece of the Dursley’s that they made sure everyone had heard about” Elizabeth explained softly struggling to meet the healers eyes “I tried to tell Dumbledore in my 1st year, practically begged to be able to stay in Hogwarts but I think he thought I was exaggerating”

Madam Pomphrey took a deep breath before she spoke again “He always was a bit naïve when it came to abused children. He could never understand a person’s willingness to harm a child especially when the child was family. Now for your past injuries and badly healed bones I can provide a bone regenerative draught to strengthen them for the most part but I will need to do a more targeted scan of your bones to determine the exact locations and decide which areas require Skele-gro. A regime of nutrient potions and immune strengtheners will need to be taken for the next few months to combat your malnutrition will help with that as well”

Sighing she was forced to admit “A lot of the problems are beyond the scope of my knowledge and magical strength. The Master Healers Block for example is beyond my abilities though I do have some friends in St. Mungo’s I could recommend should you wish for them to be rectified”

“The damage from the Horcrux seems quite extensive” she explained “Your magic seems to have been protecting you from the soul fragment and the fragment has also been acting like a leech, that combine with the blocks on your magic mean you have been surviving on approximately 10% of your magical core. Your mind has some trauma due to the connection the Horcrux created between your mind and Voldemort’s. There unfortunately isn’t a quick fix for these it will be a case of practising your magic to regain its strength” seeing Elizabeth open her mouth to interrupt she prompted her question “Your magic is like a muscle, the more you work it the stronger and more controlled it becomes” seeing her nod she continued “The block on your mind magic’s I am able to remove and with access to your natural Occlumency that should help your mind recover combined with some meditative techniques”

“Your mind should become clearer and you should be able to retain/recall information easier and quicker” Madam Pomphrey trailed off with one last thing “Your magic is currently playing catch-up which is why you probably can’t actually feel a power boost, its running through your body trying to fix the trauma within your mind and body to get it to the best working order it can to be able to reach your maximum potential”

“Thank you” Elizabeth said feeling a great deal of relief. These things were all liveable or easy to deal with, she could cope with this “I think I’ll leave the Master Healers Block in place at the moment and try to gain control to the greater access of magic I currently have before I make the decision about more”

“Very well, if you change your mind I can always get you the names you need” Madam Pomphrey nodded before standing with her wand in hand. She waved it swiftly over the parchment and the paper divided itself up and formed a folder around it with her name inscribed on the front. “Now, Miss Potter, let’s get the specific scan out of the way then we can start you on with the potion regime and targeted healing”

Elizabeth nodded and lay still as Madam Pomphrey waved her wand in a circular motion down the length of her body. Her whole body glowed eerily but five points glowed more brightly than the rest; her left ankle, her right knee and hip, her left elbow and her right shoulder.

“Ok, there are five joints that require Skele-gro but you can only take one dose a day so you’ll be here for approximately five more days, I will give you the potion each night and spell you to sleep, for the rest of the day I suggest you learn some meditative techniques to help with your mind and practice them first. This would help you with your magical control which I think is your priority”

“Sounds good” Elizabeth said as Madam Pomphrey left to get the necessary potions and books for the girl. She quickly returned and handed her the books and the first set of potions she needed to take.

“This is the potions schedule I want you to follow” the healer said as she handed over a small sheet of parchment that read the potions, times and had space to tick off every time you’d taken them. Madam Pomphrey smiled weakly at the young girl; she was feeling rather over-whelmed at the moment she didn’t know how the girl was coping so well “What time would you like me to return to administer the Skele-gro?”

“My body will heal better the more I sleep right?” Elizabeth asked and at the healers nod she said “For the next week I will go to sleep at around 9 and get a solid 12 hours a night to help myself so just before that I suppose if that’s alright?”

Madam Pomphrey agreed and left the room with a quiet see you later. Elizabeth looked around the room and took a deep breath; this was going to be a long week. Grabbing the first book in the pile she decided reading and learning this would be a productive way to pass the time.

****

~*8*~

It had taken her a week but she was finally deemed fit enough to leave Madam Pomphrey’s domain. During the week she spent there she had decided that the first thing she needed to do was to go and see the Goblins. She had to go and explain herself to them for better or worse, after everything that happened they deserved that at the very least. She just hoped they would be willing to listen.

Walking swiftly down the corridors she made a quick detour to the Headmistress’s office before she stepped out onto the winding path out of Hogwarts, she exited the gates and quietly apparated herself to the steps of Gringotts. With a deep breath she entered the white marble building, ignoring the glares sent her way by the Goblins Guard. Approaching the nearest teller she politely asked for a meeting with the Goblin in charge so she could provide an explanation and discuss reparations.

“One moment please” the Goblin sneered before he hopped down from his seat and entered the door behind his post. He returned quickly with two guards and said a brusque “Follow them”

She nodded respectfully to the teller before following swiftly behind the guards as they led the way to a large ornate door. One of the guards gave a sharp two knocks and a gravelly voice answered “Enter” the guard opened the door and allowed her entrance before closing the door behind her leaving them to take their positions outside it.

“Ah, Lady Potter” spoke an older looking Goblin sat behind a very regal looking desk. “I am Director Ragnok of Gringotts bank, I am also King Ragnok of the Goblin Nation” he introduced before he gestured to one of the plush seats that lined the other side of his desk “Take a seat”

“Erm... hi?” Elizabeth greeted unsurely, she didn’t quite know how to greet the royalty of the Goblin race. Taking the offered seat she said “Am I to assume it’s you I need to provide an explanation to for my actions and discuss the reparations?”

Ragnok gave her a deep nod but said nothing further.

“OK” she started taking a deep breath “I’m going to give you the short version so I don’t waste too much of your time and if you would then prefer the longer version I will of course oblige. I do have some bits of evidence to back up my story”

Ragnok merely raised a single eyebrow showing he was listening.

Taking this as her cue to continue she explained succinctly “Voldemort created Horcruxes and Bellatrix Lestrange had one protected in her vault” she had a feeling they had the knowledge of all kinds of magic’s and didn’t wish to offend anymore than she already had by explaining what exactly a Horcrux was.

It was hard to tell with the pallor of the Goblins skin but she imagined that it was what it looked like if a Goblin were to pale before going purple with apoplectic rage like her Uncle did whenever magic was involved. He sat up straight with a tight grip on his desk looking like it was the only thing keeping him in his seat, breathing deeply, like a bull about to charge.

If what this girl said was true then the Goblin Nation has been unknowingly assisting in keeping the Dark Lord alive. This had the potential to be catastrophic; it could absolutely ruin them if this got out. It took him a few moments but he managed to calm himself down “OK Lady Potter” he said, his voice tight with barely restrained violence “you have my attention”

“Thanks” Elizabeth said hesitantly, the Goblins anger was a force to be reckoned with and she didn’t really want to piss him off again. “As you know Voldemort survived the events of Halloween 1981 and managed to regain his body during the final task of the TriWizard tournament. Originally he had six Horcruxes, five he created on purpose and the sixth was implanted behind my scar that Halloween. After his return he created an additional one using his snake familiar” she paused to pick up the bag she had brought in with her as she explained “I have some of the mangled containers which I am hoping you can use to verify my story as I do realise you have no real reason to believe me. If that’s not enough I am willing to show you my memories of the events if you have a way of seeing them”

Ragnok looked briefly impressed before he spoke “We would be able to verify your story from those objects, Lady Potter, but we may request the viewing of certain memories as well”

Elizabeth nodded her understanding and acceptance before she continued “The first one is a small black diary” she said as she pulled it out of her bag and deposited it on the table in front of her “This I destroyed in my second year at Hogwarts when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and a Basilisk was let loose. A student was taken down there at the end of the year who had been writing in the diary and Voldemort managed to take control and started to drain her life in order to fuel his own. I went down and managed to summon the sword of Gryffindor which I then used to slay the basilisk but not before getting bitten. Fawkes, Dumbledore’s Phoenix, used its tears to heal me and I used the fang that had lodged in my arm to stab the diary”

“The second was the Gaunt Family Ring which I don’t have with me as it was disposed of by Albus Dumbledore in the summer before my sixth year. It belonged to the father and later brother of Merope Gaunt who was Voldemort’s mother. I don’t know for sure but I believe he took it when he went to kill his muggle father and then framed it on his uncle. Before it was destroyed Dumbledore had activated the curse layered on the ring that withered his hand and was slowly working its way through his body. Knowing he was already dying he arranged his own death with the help of Severus Snape at the end of my sixth year”

“The third was the Slytherin locket” she pulled the locket out of her bag and laid it next to the diary “This was sold by a Merope Gaunt to Borgin and Burke and later purchased by Hepzibah Smith. Later she showed it to a young Voldemort who recognised the locket for what it was and had her killed, framing her house elf, and taking the locket. Once he turned it into a Horcrux he hid it under extensive wards inside a cave he had found as a child. Regulus Black found the locket with the help of his house elf and left it in the house elf’s care with the final order to destroy it as he died from the potion that protected it. The house elf eventually fell to me and I found out the locket had been stolen by Mundungus Fletcher who sold it to Delores Umbridge which led us to breaking into the Ministry of Magic. This was eventually destroyed by Ron Weasley with the sword of Gryffindor”

For the first time Ragnok interrupted “It absorbed the Venom from the Basilisk”

“Yes, making it the only known weapon capable of destroying Horcruxes” she smiled before she carried on “The fourth one was the one we stole from here” she explained pulling the remnants of the Hufflepuff cup from her bag and placing it on the desk “When Hepzibah Smith returned to Borgin and Burkes it was during the time Voldemort had been working there. She bragged of her family’s Hufflepuff ancestry and offered to show him the Hufflepuff Cup as proof of her claims. He stole this one from her at the same time as he took the locket. This was destroyed when we returned to Hogwarts and Ron and Hermione Granger managed to get into the Chamber of Secrets and use another Basilisk Fang”

“The fifth was the infamous diadem of Ravenclaw” she said as she placed it on the desk with the others “This was found when he charmed the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower who was also Helena Ravenclaw into revealing its location. He travelled to Albania and found the diadem using it for his next Horcrux and hid it within the Room of Requirements in Hogwarts when he return to try and gain the Professor post for Defence against the Dark Arts. It was destroyed while we were at Hogwarts when a junior death eater tried to cast FiendFyre and lost control of it. The flames destroyed the Horcrux and also killed himself”

“The two final ones were obviously me, by that Halloween night he had created the first 5 Horcruxes and his unstable soul fractured when the killing curse rebounded and the sliver of soul latched onto me, this was rectified when I willingly went to Voldemort and allowed him to kill me. The soul shard was killed and I was allowed to return. The final one was his snake familiar which was created as far as we can estimate shortly after his revival in my fourth year. Neville Longbottom successfully killed it by calling the sword of Gryffindor to him like I did in my second year and chopping off its head” she said pulling said sword out of her bag and placing along the length of the desk.

“Voldemort was then mortal and I finished him off when his killing curse rebounded off my spell due to the fact he tried to use the wand that was once Dumbledore’s. On the night he died Dumbledore was disarmed by Draco Malfoy and I had disarmed Draco during our brief capture at Malfoy manor meaning the wands loyalty was mine and could not be used against me. In return for Griphook’s help I promised him the sword and I had every intention of giving it to him I just needed it to finish this war first” she finished with a twisted smile; she hoped the Goblin would understand.

Ragnok sat back in his chair and his gaze dragged across the items on his desk before settling on the girl sat across from him. He shook his head to himself, no, not a girl, a young warrior. He believed her, he’d still needed to get the items in question checked just in case but what had occurred was beyond what he expected when he accepted this meeting. He flicked his fingers and a glittering white wisp flew through the closed door. Turning back to the girl who was watching everything with her eyebrows raised in unspoken questions, he uncharacteristically answered “I am summoning a Goblin Shaman in order to verify your story”

Nodding her head in understanding she sat back and waited patiently. A few moments later there was a sharp knock on the door.

“Enter” Ragnok called and almost instantly the door opened allowing a robed goblin entrance. This Goblin was one like Elizabeth had never seen before, he was dressed in royal blue robes with gold accents and a golden rope wrapped around his body, in his hand he held a gnarled branch that was polished to perfection and topped with a green gem that seemed to glow with power.

The shaman approached the desk and waited patiently for his king’s request. Ragnok spoke quickly in what seemed to be their natural tongue; he quickly explained everything they had discussed and what he was here to do. Without a response he shot her a quick respectful but wary glance before turning his attention to the objects that lined the desk. He raised his staff and clasped it tightly with both hands, he started rapidly chanting in what appeared to be the same language Ragnok had just spoke. The objects started to quiver as a light grey mist formed around each object except for the sword which seemed to glow a sickly green.

Ragnok took a deep breath before nodding to the shaman who bowed in response; he then turned and gave a nod of respect to Elizabeth before turning and leaving the room. Leaning back in his chair Ragnok took a deep breath before speaking “Very well, Lady Potter, we have successfully confirmed your story. If the objects had simply been cursed and the curse removed the objects would have glowed pure white indicating its return to a pure state, the grey aura indicated these objects have been subjected to such a level of black magic that they are forever tainted”

“OK” Elizabeth nodded her understanding before continuing with some confusion “I have to admit I came here half expecting to be crucified without the chance to explain”

Ragnok nodded his head “While it is true that normally when a thief is literally caught breaking in there is little reason to hold any type of interrogation as the cases are clear, however, in this case the war had already led us to believe there must have been some kind of extenuating circumstances combined with the way you normally treat us Goblins left us willing to, at the very least, hear you out” Ragnok explained “Now the truth has been revealed we now know we as a nation owe you a great debt”

“I’m not sure I understand that last part” Elizabeth admitted with a frown.

“The potential ramifications if these events, should they be discovered would be catastrophic for us as a species. If it were revealed that we, even unknowingly, had assisted in Voldemort’s desire for immortality by protecting one of his soul containers, it would have had a ripple effect that would practically destroy Goblin Human relations. The fact that you came here with the mind of our innocence provides us with a great deal of relief” Ragnok explained simply.

“Well, to me, it never made sense for you to join Voldemort” Elizabeth shrugged “Following him would hold nothing for you. He loathed all creatures and only put up with those that could win him the war without the promise of anything for them after the war was won just the bloodshed they could gain during it. From what I know of Goblin wars, my own research not Binn’s class, there was always a purpose the wars fought it was never for mindless violence, so, in my mind, it was never an issue. I would have explained more at the time unfortunately we were at a very critical time where Voldemort had become aware of what I was doing and was actively working to try and stop me, so I had no time to explain and I couldn’t afford to hesitate”

Ragnok nodded in respect, his eyes slightly warm as he observed the young warrior in front of him “As a primarily warrior race I appreciate the battle strategy for what it is and I am grateful that your knowledge and observations of our people allowed us to protect the already fragile relationship between our two races”

“I am also willing to pay reparations for the damages I caused. I don’t know if there will be enough in my vault so I am hoping we could work out some kind of deal where I can work it off or something” she admitted sheepishly catching the surprise that flickered across his face.

“Lady Potter” he asked as he sat up straight in his chair and stared at her intently “Are you unaware of your titles and inheritance?”

“Umm... all I was aware of was my trust vault and I don’t really know what you mean by titles” she admitted hesitantly feeling like she was missing something, a feeling she hated with her entire being but had unfortunately grown quite used to.

“No, Lady Potter, you have the combined titles and wealth of some of the most esteemed families in the Wizarding World. You have the Potters by your birth right and Black as you were adopted by one Sirius Black as his heir when he was discovered sterile. You also have the titles of Gryffindor and Peverell through your Potter lineage and Slytherin by way of conquest” Ragnok explained to the shocked young woman.

“Oh” Elizabeth said in way of answer not quite sure how to react to the news and not really knowing what it meant either. Seeing she would need some time he called for Griphook, he hoped am familiar face would help ease everything he was about to throw her way.

A quick but thorough explanation was provided to the Goblin after he arrived which seemed to relieve Griphook that he wasn’t mistaken about the young Potter heir. After discovering that the she had known nothing of her inheritance the Goblin was livid.

“As your magical Guardian it was the duty of Albus Dumbledore to inform you of all the relevant information. Unfortunately until you were of age everything was to be sent to him” Griphook admitted with annoyance “Albus Dumbledore’s death was so close to your 17th Birthday we expected you to turn up on the day so we could start building the Potter Family accounts back up to what they were supposed to be after so long being stagnant”

“Will he have been able to take anything from the vaults?” Elizabeth asked hesitantly, she didn’t know if she could take another betrayal from the man she had seen as a mentor and friend.

“No” Griphook answered promptly “He wouldn’t have been able to, but, there have been monthly withdrawals to a family called Dursley. Every month from the time your parents died to your 11th Birthday and then for two months a year whilst you were attending Hogwarts”

“Those Bastards were paid to take care of me!” Elizabeth shouted, horrified to the core.

“If these people haven’t been providing you with adequate care during this time Miss Potter and you have the evidence to support your claims we may be able to sue them for the return of the money” Ragnok interrupted for the first time.

“I don’t know” Elizabeth said as she rubbed a hand over her face in frustration “Actually, no. Thank you for the offer but as I never have to see them again I think I will just leave that as it is”

The Goblins nodded but said nothing further on the matter as they changed the subject to the matters of her inheritance. “Lady Potter, if we may, we would like to perform a blood inheritance ritual to see if there are any dormant vault and titles you may have access to”

Griphook spoke in support of his leader in a way he hoped would convince the young girl this was a good idea “All it would require is a drop of you blood on a piece of enchanted parchment and it would tell us everything we need to know. There are dozens of family vaults lying dormant that we can’t get access to so we know not if there is more than just gold hidden there”

“Ok, let’s do it” Elizabeth said as a spark of curiosity flared in her eyes before she held up a hand indicating she wasn’t quite finished “But only if you will allow me to hire yourself, Griphook, to explore these dormant vaults and help me navigate the nuisances of investments and things”

“You wish for me to be your account manager?” Griphook asked surprised. He had been sure this bridge was burnt after he tricked her and her friends; working with Lady Potter was very strange to their normal dealings with Wizards.

“If that’s the name for it” Elizabeth smiled at the Goblins obvious surprise “I wouldn’t even know where to begin and I trust you. I don’t know much in the way of payment though; would you want a monthly monetary sum or something different?”

“Well Lady Potter, while normally as I was just a teller not an account manager you would just pay the difference in wages already given me monthly by the Goblin Council” Griphook explained.

Elizabeth frowned for a moment before deciding “Ok, I can do that but as an extra incentive we can add 5% payment from any profits made due to your efforts. Would this be acceptable?”

“Yes, Lady Potter, that would be agreeable” Griphook said with a toothy smile.

“Lady Potter, what you might not know is Goblins are not just hoarders of gold they also hoard knowledge. If you are agreeable while Griphook is going through your vaults if they hold anything of interest to us as a nation would you be open to selling them?” Ragnok asked.

“Of course” Elizabeth agreed instantly “I actually know a Pasel-magic spell that can copy a book in full even those with a copyright ward over them. So any of the books I can provide a copy of for you if there are any of interest”

“We know of a spell that can do the same. For every book we copy depending on the rarity price can be discussed at a later date” Ragnok said with a smirk as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his warded draw and placed it on the table between them “Let’s not leave us all in suspense then shall we”

Elizabeth smiled and took the offered dagger and pricked the end of her finger onto the parchment. The effect was immediate as the blood spread and started forming into words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Lady Elizabeth James Potter-Black_

_Direct Ancestry:_

_The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter_

_The House of Evans_

_Potter Ancestry:_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Hufflepuff_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell_

_Evans Ancestry:_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Myrddin Wyllt_

_Black Ancestry:_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Burke_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Lestrange_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Prewett_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Yaxley_

_The Noble House of Crabbe_

_The Noble House of Crouch_

_Right of Conquest:_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Gaunt_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Slytherin_

_Life Debts:_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy_

_The Ancient and Most Noble House of Weasley (2)_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well Lady Potter” Griphook said with a wide toothy smile “It looks like I have a lot of work to do”

Elizabeth stared wide-eyed at the complete list of names when one of them caught her eye “How am I descended from Ravenclaw, my mother was a muggleborn?”

“Goblins have known for a while that the muggleborns are descended from squibs that have been sent away” Ragnok explained “It is why there has been an increase of muggleborns in the recent years”

“Ok” Elizabeth said feeling overwhelmed.

“Lady Potter, I will begin an complete audit of your vaults” Griphook said “The gold can be calculated immediately and as soon as the audit is completed I will write to you to arrange a meeting so we can make some decisions about the rest of the contents of the vaults”

“Ok” Elizabeth said taking a deep breath, she would deal with that all later, she needed to get back to the main reason she had originally come here today “Hopefully I have enough to pay for damages then”

“Lady Potter, I feel unable to take payment for your efforts of ridding us of the tyrant Voldemort” Ragnok declined politely.

“I insist” Elizabeth protested her stubbornness shining through “If you’d prefer a different method of me paying you back then we can discuss that but I will be repaying you some way”

Ragnok eyed the young woman sat across from him for a moment before he nodded “Alright, I can see there is no changing your mind. For free copies of any books we desire held within your vaults up to the value of 3000 Galleons, which is half the total cost of the damages. If we don’t find the amount the rest we will take as gold payment”

“If you don’t find enough books then yes take the gold amount, however, you can have free copies of any books that take your interest up to any amount as repayment for your willingness to listen to my explanation and ensuring that Voldemort’s Horcruxes remain secret” Elizabeth counter offered.

Ragnok looked at the young woman across from him and smiled a wide toothy grin “You are an interesting young woman Lady Potter and I look forward to doing more business with you”

Elizabeth smiled slightly before asking “Originally I was going to rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron but are there any properties under the Potter or Black name that are liveable for the moment? I have some issues with my magic since the removal of the Horcrux and I need some where private and secure where I can regain control away from prying eyes”

“Actually Lady Potter, the Potter’s have a Manor in the Scottish Highlands that seems to be perfect for what you need” Griphook said after shuffling through some of the papers in his lap “It also has a Library that could also be beneficial to you”

“Really, that sounds great” Elizabeth said enthusiastically “Is it warded?”

“Yes” Griphook nodded “It was warded from the foundations up when it was built. I can provide a Portkey to the property as its tradition to leave an emergency Portkey to family properties for this exact reason”

“That sounds perfect” Elizabeth sighed.

“Very well” Ragnok said “I think that is everything we needed to discuss for the moment so I shall bid you good day. Griphook will get your Portkey for you and then I imagine will eagerly get to work discovering all the hidden gems in your vaults”

“Of course” Griphook agreed before standing with Elizabeth “I will collect the Portkey and then get started. Seeing the list of vaults I estimate it will take about two weeks to go though them all and then I can call you in for a meeting to go through everything with you and see where we go from there”

“That sounds great” Elizabeth said as she stood “Thank you for agreeing to see me today King Ragnok” she said with a nod of farewell before she turned and Griphook led her out the door and back toward the main floor.

“Thank you Griphook” Elizabeth said as she took the offered Portkey and after quietly muttering the pass phrase was whisked away. _Per Ardua Surgo_ , Through Difficulties I Arise.

Unknown to Elizabeth the Goblins she had left behind had called a meeting with the Goblin High Council to discuss everything that had occurred. They had come to the unanimous agreement that the Goblin Nation owed the young woman a great debt and they would find a way to repay her. After all she embodied the Goblin motto, _Fortius Quo Fidelius_ , Strength through Loyalty.

~*8*~

Elizabeth settled nicely into Potter Manor, it reminded her heavily of Hogwarts, so much so that she immediately felt at home. One of the first things she did was call for her House elves.

Her ownership of the House elves had been a very interesting endeavour. When she met Dobby the summer before her second year she had been interested to learn about this class of creatures that had previously been unknown to her before. Due to her own research she discovered the almost symbiotic relationship between a House elf and their master. She had tried very persistently to inform Hermione as well but she was always dismissed by the stubborn girl who was so sure in her own correctness that nothing else penetrated. They needed the magic they gained from the bond as sustenance and as repayment for that magic they willingly served.

When she had freed the little elf she had immediately offered him a deal, he was free to do whatever he wanted to do but with a bond to herself in order to keep him alive. Dobby had countered that he wanted to serve her as soon as he could, she compromised in the end and if he still felt that way once she had graduated Hogwarts he could come and serve her.

Dobby happily took the offer and started working at Hogwarts the summer before her fourth year, along with Winky, a house elf that fell into a depression after being dismissed by her old master Barty Crouch at the Quiddich World Cup. After the events of the TriWizard tournament she had approached Winky with the same offer she gave Dobby. She accepted and became much happier for it.

After Dobby had rescued them from Malfoy manor and been injured in the process she had given him an order. It was only the second order she had ever given one of her elves. The first had been he and Winky were both forbidden from ever injuring themselves and if someone tried to harm them they were to fight back. In the heat of the moment with a bleeding Dobby in her arms she had ordered, Don’t Die.

He had done everything he could in order to follow through with the order given and with the help of Winky put himself into a healing coma. Their combined magic as well as the magic she passed through the bond managed to heal the worst of the damage. He had been left at Shell Cottage to recover under the watchful eye of Winky who they discovered had a slightly terrifying mother hen streak. Together both elves had happily set about organising their new home and finally being able to serve their mistress.

Two weeks after the initial meeting at Gringotts Griphook had written to her and invited her to a meeting. He had finally completed an audit and had a book containing all the contents of the vaults. After going through everything Elizabeth had decided to sell off the majority of the properties she owned. She asked to hire a team of Goblins to empty out the properties and store everything in her vaults. She would keep Potter Manor in the Scottish Highlands, Potters Cottage in Cornwall near Lands End, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which she admitted she planned to burn to the ground in honour of her godfather and then sell the land, and the Black Island which was somewhere in the Caribbean. She cut a deal with them that 10% of the sales of the properties would go to Gringotts and they were more than happy with such a deal that was set to make them millions of Galleons.

They discussed some potential investments including the one she already had with Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes and Griphook spelled the book to be self update at the end of every month and if anything needed to be discussed they could talk through the same books in the front section.

It was also during this time that she started receiving letters from Ron, Hermione, Molly, Percy and Ginny. All of them started demanding to know where she was and when she was going to step up and do her duty to the Wizarding World. It was a disgusting display that had nothing to do with the Wizarding World and everything to do with what they expected her to do now.

They though she should be using her fame to champion their ideals and start to settle down with Fred (who she had briefly dated in her sixth year before they had mutually decided they were better off as friends). The only people who had her back were the Weasley Twins and their two eldest brothers, Fleur Weasley, Neville and Luna. Neville had also been kind enough to send her articles from the Daily Prophet that they were printing about her.

It was awful!

Her fame had skyrocketed and everyone wanted to know everything about her. Her supposed ‘Best Friends’ had delighted in the spotlight being on them and had spilled everything they wanted to know in order to bask in their new found fame. This had made her extremely grateful for her own paranoia in swearing them to secrecy over the prophecy and the Horcruxes. Everything from her choices in clothing to her toiletries were revealed, the shops then stocked them and sold them just as quickly to the adoring masses. It was sickening.

She had had enough, but what could she do. She had no idea how to escape and she felt like she was drowning.

It was about mid-July when she had gone to Gringotts for a meeting with Griphook. He had kept her up to date on the current progress of her investments and he wanted her to come in once a month to set up some more for her other vaults in order to get them making money. One thing Griphook had wanted to discuss was the idea of putting a patent on her, it would prevent anyone publishing anything, be they picture or reports on her without getting a sizable fine that would be taken by Gringotts. It would put a stop to all the false advertising and gain her a small fortune until they finally caught on.

Griphook had been very convincing and she had decided to go through with it, all it required was a final signature and he could start the process. Filing away that particular piece of paperwork Griphook turned and asked his traditional last question “Is there anything else I can help you with today, Lady Potter?”

She smiled grimly as she stood to leave, her tone was defeated and despondent as she responded “Not unless you can find a way for me to disappear” before she said her goodbyes and left the office. Leaving as quickly as she did she missed the toothy grin that spread across the Goblins face as an idea sprung to mind.

~*8*~

It had been a week since her meeting with Griphook and nothing had gotten any better. Owls came daily from her supposed friends all demanding her attention. Attention she refused to give to them.

Currently she was relaxing in the comfiest chair she had found in the Library, curled up with a roaring open fire on the go, a delicious hot chocolate in one hand and a good book in the other. Her life might be in a bit of a shambles at the moment but she loved finishing her day this way. She had come to many conclusion during her time separated from the majority of the Wizarding World. The main one being if she didn’t find a way to escape she would end up doing something drastic.

There was no life for her here in Wizarding Britain. She knew that in the deepest part of her heart. She had held on to so much hope during the war that in the unlikely event that she survived she would finally be free to live. Naively she had held onto that hope even after the war for a few weeks, hoping her friends would realise what they were doing, hoping the sheep of the Wizarding World would find something new to focus on, a fools hope it was.

A quiet pecking on the Library window caught her attention. Looking over she saw a raven waiting patiently on the sill. She waved her hand and the window opened, allowed the bird to enter then softly closed after it. The first time such a bird had appeared she had been confused, but after reading the letter it had at the time she realised that Gringotts never did anything the same as Wizards and Witches if they could help it. So they used Ravens instead of Owls, according to Griphook they were much easier to train.

The raven landed comfortable on the arm of her chair allowing her to untie the letter he carried. She conjured a small bowl and filled it with water for it to drink, it cawed its thank and took several gulps before flapping its wings once telling her it was ready to leave. She waved her hand again and the window opened, the bird flew out and it softly closed again. She had gotten much better control over her wandless/wordless magic in the past few months.

Looking at the unopened letter she frowned, she wondered what Griphook could possibly be writing to her at this time of night for. She broke the seal, unfolded the letter and began to read.

_Dear Lady Potter-Black,_

_Gringotts requests your presence Sunday 12 th July 1998 (tomorrow) at 7.30am._

_As this time is before Gringotts official opening hours a Goblin Guard will be waiting on the steps of the bank to guide you from there._

_This letter is vague as a precautionary measure and we hope to see you there where all necessary information will be subsequently revealed._

_If you accept this meeting merely allow a drop of blood to fall on the Gringotts crest at the bottom of this letter._

_This meeting had been called to discuss a beneficial arrangement between ourselves that we hope you will find helpful in regards to something discussed at our last meeting._

_May your Gold always Flow like the Blood of your Enemies._

_Regards,_

_Griphook_

_Account Manager_

Elizabeth frowned deep in thought; she couldn’t recall anything that needed further discussion from the last meeting. It had been a fairly straight forward meeting discussing her investments and signing off on the patent on her name, nothing worth calling a second meeting about.

She sat up with a gasp as she recalled the end of the meeting. She had been having a terrible day and it had just slipped out, but it wasn’t possible they could help her with something like that could they. It didn’t matter she needed to find out.

Creating a small cut on her thumb she allowed the required drop to fall onto the request, it flared brightly in recognition before settling down. Despite herself she began to hope.

~*8*~

The next morning she apparated to the alley down the side of Gringotts and peered around the corner cautiously before approaching. As instructed a Goblin Guard was already there patiently waiting for her arrival, they often reminded her of the Queens Guards, not a muscle moved, no expression but constantly aware and no communication. Which is why when the guard turned and simply led her inside, without so much as a word, it didn’t surprise her.

Inside Griphook was approached as spoke “Good Morning Lady Potter-Black, thank you for accommodating this impromptu meeting. I hope by the end of our meeting today you will understand my need for discretion. If you could follow me”

“Gooding Morning Griphook” Elizabeth said as she followed him. She immediately knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary meeting when the bypassed the hall that held his current office. She was taken to an office she had visited once before, the day she came to explain her actions.

Griphook knocked and at a quiet call opened the door to Ragnok’s office. The office had been changed for the occasion, instead of Ragnok sitting behind a large ornate desk he sat at the head of a large round table. At his back stood a security goblin and Griphook, after closing the door to the room, took the seat to his left.

Elizabeth slowly walked forward as she noticed the other presences in the room. On the right side of King Ragnok, separated slightly by the standing guard, was the newly appointed Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, next to him was the rightful Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Minerva McGonagall.

They all smiled at her in welcome as she approached the table and took the remaining seat beside Griphook. Looking around she was struggling to make the connection between all the people in attendance. Seeing her confusion Griphook cleared his throat in order to explain.

“At the end of our last meeting you made a statement about how you wished to be able to disappear” Griphook started “After that meeting I was struck with an idea but it would require more than just myself to be able to pull it off. I arranged to meet with Ragnok and between us we got in contact with others we had decided could help us as well. It was decided by the Goblin High Council that this would be the perfect way to pay back the debt the Goblin Nation owes you”

“You don’t…” Elizabeth started but was quickly interrupted by Griphook.

“I am well aware that you don’t feel we owe you a debt but as the council has declared it to be it is our duty to find a way to restore the balance” Griphook said “With the assistance of the Minister for Magic and the Headmistress of the School you attend we now have all the necessary people needed to be able to pull it off”

“There are a lot of different detail involved which we can go through if you are interested but for now I will simply surmise the entirety of our offer and if you accept we will then explore the details” Griphook said succinctly “We as a nation have access to old magic and species specific magic that allow us to do certain things above and beyond that of the normal Wizarding world. One such ritual is known to only the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister of Magic under oaths to only reveal the information if both of them and the Goblin Nation decide there is a need. This ritual works, to use the muggle vernacular, like a witness protection program”

At this point Kingsley spoke up “I am here as the Minister for Magic to authorise this officially”

“And I am here to provide the necessary documents to get your examination sorted out as a back-up of sorts to one of the rituals the Goblins are providing” Professor McGonagall explained softly with an encouraging smile “Both myself and Kingsley have listened as the people you considered friends and family turned on you and have listened to many of their rants. As much as it pains me, and I will miss you terribly, Wizarding Britain will stifle you. I am very happy to help you gain the freedom you so richly deserve”

Griphook watched as the young warrior contemplated what she had been told. He had grown to appreciate the girl for everything she had done; she was strong and if there was an achievable way, he couldn’t in good conscience, allow such a strong warrior spirit be broken by the useless guile of the majority of Wizarding Britain. He watched as the hope in her eyes hardened and strengthened as the idea took hold, he saw the dimming flame flare to life as her hope restored itself. He knew her answer before she spoke but his smile turned feral as she said “What do we need to do?”

Ragnok spoke quietly to the guard at his back in their own language and he left the room quickly. Mere seconds later he returned with a few Goblins who set up some refreshments and snacks for their guests, they were going to be here a while.

So the discussion began. They told her of the many different way witches and wizards could be tracked within the magical world and the different ways they could combat these issues.

There would be two rituals involved. One that would change her identity and the second would mask her magical signature.

For these rituals they would need to get her magic unbound and under her control and would need to do a full healing. These would take time but another aspect of unknown Goblin magic would undoubtedly benefit her here. Deep in the heart of Gringotts there was a warded and heavily magic’d cavern that could in essence give you more time. There were several settings you could use but the most efficient one was what they would be using for this. For every minute outside the cavern an hour passed within. This meant for every day spent within the cavern 60 day would occur within. This would give them all the time they would need.

During her time in the cavern she would be fully healed, all the training necessary to control her magic would be provided and anything she would like to learn could be discussed and teachers assigned. It would all take about a week to set up, during that week decisions needed to be made in regards to what her new identity would be, what to do with her moneys and vaults and where her destination was going to be.

It was decided that she would stay within the cavern for a total of 40 days on the outside which would equate to approximately, just over 6 and a half years on the inside. On the 20th July she would enter the cavern for the first time and would stay for 11 days, that weekend she would leave in order to take her exams in whatever topics she decided. She would then return for a further 29 days, unless there were any other days she decided to leave for. Everything should be completed and settled by the 31st August and by the 1st September she would be out of Britain and in a country of her choice.

A list would be provided for all the different topics she could learn and she would need to write to them in a day or two and confirm what she would like to study so they could prepare the appropriate teachers. All in all it had taken about an hour to go over everything, this was all just preliminary and a more detail description of each aspect would be provided when it was time to enter the cavern.

Elizabeth swallowed deeply as she looked around the room of people who were giving her greatest wish; it was only her own stubborn nature that prevented the tears that filled her eyes from falling although she was sure they could see them just fine. This was more than she ever dreamed possible.

She swallowed deeply and said “Thank you”

~*8*~

The week that followed was hectic to say the least. Packing and organising everything ready for her time within the cavern was a main priority, Dobby and Winky were ecstatic and were happily helping her. They discussed everything together and had been introduced to Griphook and the team he was using so they could continue to be of help whilst she was away.

Normally such a massive endeavour would have been a daunting task to a seventeen nearly eighteen year old but Elizabeth thrived. It was nerve wracking this was true, but, it was a chance to live free of the Wizarding World and in her opinion was completely worth it. She had a purpose again, and for once in her life she was more than willing to be selfish.

It was only the next day when she had sent off a list of the classes she wished to take along with what she wanted her new name to be and where she wanted to go. She had decided her new name would be Alexandra Black and she would be moving to America, somewhere warm to start with but she would have the opportunity to explore and decide where to settle down herself should she fancy it.

Financially she was going to keep the Potter Vault and its ancestor Vaults in Britain, she had become good friends with Griphook and loathed to take away something he had worked extremely hard on. This would be kept going and as normal with Griphook managing all the investments. The Black, Slytherin and Evan Vaults with their ancestors would be transferred to the American Branch of Gringotts where Griphook would set up an account manager who he thought would be suited to her. This money would then be equally split between Gringotts and the Muggle Bank of America. She had no intention of limiting herself to one world or the other when both had so much to offer.

Going through her list of classes she had decided that from the Ministry she would take; Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration.

Privately with the Goblins however she was going to take a further 26 subjects; Advanced Arithmancy, Alchemy, Ancient Studies, Animagus Transformation, Creature Studies, Dark Arts, Ecomancy (The Study of Manipulating the forces of nature and Elements), Economics, Finance and Investing, Elemental Studies, Enchanting, Ghoul studies, Healing, Linguistic Arts, Magi-Metallurgy (Enchanting Metal), Magical Crafting, Magical Theory, Mythoi and Historical Studies, Occult Studies, Politics, Self Defence Training (Martial Arts), Spell crafting, Technomancy (Mixing Magic and Technology), Wandless/Wordless Magic, Warding and Weapons Training (Knives and Guns)

Griphook was already in the process of buying a house on her behalf with a beach front view, at her request, somewhere in Malibu. Dobby and Winky would be setting everything up there ready.

She had also met with the few remaining friends she had. After swearing them to secrecy she told them what was going to be happening. They like McGonagall and Kingsley felt this would be good for her even though they’d miss her. It was hard saying such a final good bye, the hardest thing she had had to do so far but they had all understood her reasoning and wished her the best for the future.

The last thing she had done was in honour of her Godfather. She had burnt Grimmauld place to the ground. It had been emptied, and placed in one of the vaults belonging to the Black family. Kreacher had unfortunately died during the battle of Hogwarts, so she had taken no small amount of delight in destroying the place which had been host to a wide variety of bad memories, both for herself and for Sirius.

The Goblins would then be selling the land to add to her considerable fortune.

~*8*~

Elizabeth couldn’t help but grin as she watched Dobby bounce around the room. He was currently quite happily packing up the Potter Family Library into a trunk. The Black Family Library had already been added to the Library Trunk she had purchased for the occasion. He suspected he would have the entire Library packed up before the time dilation field was activated. Winky stood to one side shaking her head, she was carefully organising all the books into each individual section.

Looking over at the clock she took a deep calming breath as a jolt of nervousness settled in her stomach. It was almost time to go and the reality that after this there was no turning back was finally hitting home. It was a combination of excitement and terror; the approaching freedom filled her with excitement while the unknown country she was heading to made the nerves kick in just a touch. She was finally taking full control of her life and that thrilled her as much as it terrified her. She needed this, she was currently drowning in a sea of depression and guilt and there was no other way out of it.

As the time ticked ever closer she grabbed the chain from the table. The chain itself was unimportant, just a simple but sturdy gold chain, it was the emblem it held that held an unimaginable significance. It was a gold coin, about the same size as a galleon; a detailed depiction of the Gringotts Emblem adorned the centre with the Gringotts motto carefully scripted around the top edge. Along the bottom in the same elegant script read the Latin words ‘Nullus est amicitiam divitiis’. This indicated that the person carrying the coin was a friend to the Goblin nation as it translated into _friendship is a wealth you never spend_. It was blood bound to her and it was a permanent Portkey to a private room inside Gringotts.

Seeing the time tick over she said a quick see you soon to her elves before she clasped the coin and said the passphrase activating the Portkey. After a dizzying moment of swirling colour and a whirlwind ride she landed with a thump on the white marble floor of Gringotts bank. She groaned as she collapsed with a thump onto her knees bruising them soundly. Taking a deep breath she swallowed trying to settle her rolling stomach before she stumbled to her feet and faced an amused looking Griphook.

With a roll of her eyes she straightened up and heaved herself to her feet with a quietly muttered shut up to the smirking Griphook who had the nerve to look even more amused. With a shake of her head she took a deep breath and belatedly said “Hello Griphook”.

“Hello Lady Potter” he said with a nod before he gestured for her to follow and led the way out of the room. “Everything is prepared and after we have discussed what will happen in greater detail we will be able to get started immediately. All the Goblin inside have been sworn to secrecy including myself”

“Thank you, Griphook” Elizabeth answered as they left the white marble corridors and entered the dark stone halls deep underneath the bank. They entered through a large set of black wooden doors with golden accents into a large cave like room. Several Goblins were pottering around the room setting up various instruments and workspaces. To one side was a curtained off area that contained only a bed, a small bedside cabinet and a double door cupboard similar to Madam Pomphrey’s potions cupboard. To one side a couple of small cabins were set up, they looked extremely small from the outside but she knew from experience they were deceptive.

A large fire was lit at one side surrounded by comfortable looking couches and chairs, waiting there was two distinct looking Goblins that seemed to be in charge of this entire event along with Griphook. One was dressed in a white tunic and seemed to be female, the second was the Goblin Sharman she had seen once before when he came to verify her story of the Horcruxes.

Griphook led the way over and made the introductions “Lady Potter” he said “Allow me to introduce Furlas our head Goblin Healer who decided to personally see to you and this is Ajax who I believe you have briefly met before. Ajax will be initially powering the runic ward to allow the time dilation to take effect, after that we believe the amount of magic that will be released from within will be sufficient to power it continuously for as long as we need”

“Hi, thanks for all your help” Elizabeth waved slightly “Do you think it would be OK if we got everyone to call me Alex or Alexandra while we are in here? So I can get used to my new name”

“Of course” Furlas responded on Griphook’s behalf “It’s an excellent idea that will help you acclimatise to your new name without the nuisance and mistakes that can occur normally”

They all took seats around the open fire before Griphook spoke again “While we wait for you elf to finish packing all the books you have available we will be able to go through everything we hope to achieve within this time”

“Yes, as our first priority is to do a complete healing and remove the binds you have on your magic, I will go first” Furlas started “Depending on the outcome of our scans I imagine for the first few days we will need to keep you in an enchanted sleep. This will have two benefits; the first is that you won’t feel the pain of your magical core being unblocked and the second is your body will do its best healing whilst it is in a resting state. From the scan results I should be able to estimate how long you will need to be asleep but I am going to reiterate it is an estimate and we may need to hold you under for a longer or shorter amount of time”

“That’s no problem” Elizabeth said with a nod. “I’m well aware I have a lot of issues within my body and my mind that might be more difficult to deal with than first thought and my magic is so used to healing me it might pitch in to speed up the process, it could go either way”

“Yes” Furlas said with a toothy smile “I’m glad you seem to understand the potential difficulties we may face. Now other than removing the blocks we suspect you are extremely malnourished, while you’re asleep we will be systematically removing and re-growing all the bones affected by this malnutrition and by the end of everything it should no longer be an issue”

“I thought I couldn’t take more than one dose of Skele-gro a day?” Elizabeth asked curiously.

“The reason that is advised for healers is that it affects the magical core and essentially causes bursts of unexpected magic. After we remove the blocks on you core that’s going to be happening anyway so for us it kind of works in our favour” Furlas explained “After this is complete we will wake you up. You will feel very weak for a few days and will still be confined to bed rest but you should recover quite quickly. During this time we will teach you meditate and get you Occlumency in order, as this is a discipline that should come naturally to you we will also assist in you creating a mindscape with defensive measures in place”

“Once you have sufficiently recovered we will get you started on physical exercise and martial arts” Griphook said “We have several instructors in different disciplines available for you to learn from and once you have you balance and form correctly we can start you on some weapons training”

“In between your physical conditioning I and the other specialists we have available will be teaching you all of the different aspects of magic you wished to learn in preparation for you examinations” Ajax said “All the Ministry approved topics will be registered under both Elizabeth Potter and Alexandra Black while the ones you take with a Goblin examiner with be registered under just your new name to help avoid detection. With the use of a time turner which we have available you will be able to do all of these exams within the weekend allotted”

“Upon your return you will be able to select the subjects you wish to further advance in which we will explain as a lot of the subjects can often interlink and gain you more than one mastery in the topics chosen” Ajax explained.

“If you so decide we can get you a masteries examiner for the end of your time in here and get you further certified under you new name” Griphook interjected “During this time I will be teaching you further in the art of finance and politics. This will benefit you if you decide to invest within the muggle world”

“During this process you will still continue to age, just much more slowly” Furlas explained. “We estimate that by the time you leave here, you will have aged about two and a half to three years. This means you will look about 21 when you leave. Combined with your healing, this will make you look quite different already, but, after the ritual, you will be as opposite from Elizabeth Potter as Yin is from Yang.”

“Ok, that all makes sense. I gather then comes the rituals themselves right?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes” Furlas nodded “The first ritual is called _testis praesidium_. This will pull characteristics from you ancestry to change your appearance. All your ancestries will still be there just in a different order. The second ritual is called _persona magicae_. This will disguise your magical core. If anyone manages to find you and equate you to Elizabeth Potter after a simple medical scan you will register as a squib, which knowing humans will make them uncomfortable and want to run away”

Elizabeth laughed slightly, she felt comfortable. These Goblins had seriousness to them but a sense of humour to match. She was glad it was bound to make this time more interesting.

“In America they have already some experience with powerful individuals” Griphook said “They call these people Mutants or Enhanced. Because of this you may be able to get away with some magic and just claim to be one of them”

“The rituals will be painful” Furlas admitted “There are no ways around that. Anything that could be used to dull or erase the pain would disrupt the ritualistic magic’s. All that comes after that is to register your new appearance and non-magical state to your new name”

“Ok, I can handle pain” Elizabeth said, granted she wasn’t looking forward to it but she could handle it “Something to look into though might be the use of muggle drugs on the affects of the ritual”

“Oh?” Furlas asked.

“Morphine is an extremely strong muggle drug that can in the correct doses render a patient unconscious” Elizabeth explained “It numbs the entire body and since its probably the innate magic in potions and thing that disrupt the rituals magic something with no magic might be able to deal with the pain side of it. I know it will be no use to me cause you’d need to look into it and everything but it might be something for you to look into for the future”

“Hmm… I will need to investigate this. Griphook can you ask one of your team to get me some of this morphine?” Furlas asked “I will be able to test it from within here and learn what I can and may just be able to learn enough in time for you to use it for the rituals if it is affective”

“Cool” Elizabeth grinned as a pop was heard and Dobby entered the cavern with a heavy looking trunk.

“Mistress, here is your entire Library as requested” Dobby squeaked excitedly “Dobby and Winky will continue as you asked and have everything perfect for when you return”

“Thank you Dobby” Elizabeth said with a soft smile “I will see you and Winky soon”

Dobby nodded and wished her luck before popping out again.

Griphook stood up and cleared his throat catching the attention of the other Goblins in the room. “We are ready to begin, anyone not staying within the room please leave now”

A couple of Goblins left but not many and Ajax went to the doors and sealed the shut. Raising his staff he chanted for a moment and the entire room glowed as the runic ward activated and the time dilation filed took effect.

~* 40 Days / 6 and a Half Years Later*~

Alex took a deep breath as she stepped out of the Cavern; a grin crossed her face as she looked directly across from her and saw a large full length mirror. It was the first mirror she had seen since she stepped into the cavern and she couldn’t help but marvel at the difference. There was no denying it, it had been hard work and painful but the undeniable result was that she looked different, healthy, and confident, she was standing straighter and had her head held high. She felt fit and healthy in a way she never had before, her mind was clear and organised, she felt completely in control. Most importantly she felt free and perfectly ready for whatever life threw her way.

It wasn’t all physical changes though; she never knew how stifled she felt within Hogwarts when it came to learning. Her natural mental barriers being blocked along with the majority of her magic certainly hadn’t helped, the introduction of the Horcrux meant what was left of her mind power and magic had been so focused on protecting her that it had little time for anything else unless her life was in danger.

Hogwarts was so limited by what the Ministry allowed people to learn that there was a vast amount of magical knowledge that was becoming lost due to the corruption. She freely admitted she was often bored at Hogwarts but the large amounts of magical knowledge she had been able to learn within the last 6 years had been astonishing and thrilling in a way she never expected.

During the start it had been hard, organising her mindscape was one of the first things she had needed to do and it was an emotionally exhausting and painful task. It had involved confronting all the memories she had suppressed from over the years, she had cried more than she ever had before and had more bouts of accidental magic than in the entire time she had grown up but even her emotions felt healthier now, she could confront them openly without losing complete control, she was a redhead after all.

After that she had begun to study, at first mainly for her exams and the Hogwarts subjects still bored her to tears but the inclusion of the new subjects made it entirely worth it. It was through all these subjects that she discovered her love for inventing. New spells, new Potions, new tools and anything else her mind could conceive was an avenue she had never discovered before and she couldn’t wait to explore more fully.

She had taken her exams and passed them with extreme proficiency and in some case even surpassed the 100% mark but that was the lowest mark she got. She had gained an aptitude for the core subjects taught at Hogwarts after discovering that combining them could create something else entirely. Then came the time after her exams had been finished, she had used this time to advance in her aptitude in certain subjects that would allow her to advance in her chosen pursuit. She wanted to invent and create new things, and her main project once she got to America was blending magic together with technology.

During her time there she had created her own grimoire and potions journal filled with her own creations, she had learnt many loop holes and shortcuts during that time for both spell creation and potions and she had run with it. Her main project during this time had been the creation of her multi-compartment multi-dimensional trunk.

On the outside it was black Hiberian dragon hide with platinum fixings. Along the opening where 8 different gems that when pressed would activate a different compartment or pocket dimension within the trunk

A red ruby held a small apartment including a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and study.

A blue sapphire held the original library section of the trunk, it was filled with every book she owned from every house and vaults stored safely within, and even a few more as the goblins had graciously gifted her with a copy of the Goblin Nations entire library.

A yellow topaz open a green house filled with fresh growing potion ingredients and space to grow so muggle herbs that she wanted to experiment with.

A vibrant green emerald held a fully stocked potions lab that was perfectly warded for her experiments.

The purple amethyst held a wardrobe that currently only contained very few clothes that she had made during her time there and a form fitting suit of dragon hide armour that she was looking forward to enchanting.

A multi-coloured fire opal held her spell crafting and enchanting room where she could do all the spell testing and rituals she wanted.

The last two in her mind where her greatest creation, the first was behind a black diamond which held a recreation of the room of requirements and the second was behind a clear diamond which held a recreation of the Goblins time dilation room.

Ajax had willingly shared with her how to create the enchantments from the cavern in exchange for her assistance creating the goblins own room of requirements, in her opinion it was an extremely fair trade.

On the night before they were due to leave the cavern they had then performed the rituals to finalise everything. They had been painful but they had discovered that muggle morphine could dull the effect without affecting the ritual so it had been easier than it should have been.

Glancing back at the mirror she couldn’t help but smile, if her old friends could see her now they’d never realise they were speaking to Elizabeth Potter. Gone was the stick thin slip of a girl who looked like a stiff wind could blow her over. Gone was the pale sallow skin covered in pockmarks and scars. In her place was a woman, a woman who stood at 5ft 7 with the body of a dancer and curves in all the right places, no glasses hid her emerald eyes providing a shocking blast of colour against her pale complexion. Her red hair had darkened to what the Goblins like to call blood red and her skin while pale from being in a cave for so long held a healthy glow. All of her scars had been removed and for the first time in her life she could look in a mirror and like what she saw.

A clearing throat interrupted her inspection, making her spin around in surprise, she grinned as she spotted a trio of feral smiling goblins. Furlas approached her and gave a slight nod “Live well my friend. Do try to visit if you’re ever in the area”

“I will” Alex nodded in return having learnt goblin customs during her time here, they disliked to much touching “I will miss you all, Thank you, for everything”

“I must take my leave as well” Ajax said softly as he nodded as well “It has been wonderful being able to work with you in this. Live well and enjoy the opportunity of life you have been gifted”

“I will” Alex said with a return nod “Live well both of you. I will see you again”

The two goblins left the room leaving only Griphook and Alex in the room. “Well shall we get all the paperwork finished up Lady Black”

“Yes, lets” Alex grinned and followed the goblin as he led the way to his office. Once they reached the room and closed the door two pops where heard as her house elves turned up to greet her.

“Ooh miss, yous be looking wonderful” Winky gushed happily while Dobby nodded vigorously along with her with a face splitting smile.

“Thank you Winky” she said with a smile “and please both of you call me Alex”

Griphook settled behind his desk and shuffled through a few papers as Alex took the seat opposite him. He passed over the documents and said “Sign where indicated”

Alex carefully read through the documents just like Griphook had taught her too making him smile softly before signing the indicated places with a blood quill. After she had finished Griphook placed them in the box that would transfer them to his team for them to file and get finalised. While they waited Griphook started to explain everything his team had done whilst they’d been detained basically confirming that everything they had planned to do had been achieved.

Once he had finished Dobby chirped up “Dobby and Winky have been very busy, as well, we have the new house set up for us to live in”

“Winky has also started a small garden” Winky admitted shyly.

“That’s wonderful you two” Alex grinned “Winky in my trunk I have a green house area full of potions ingredients would you be able to take care of that for me as well?”

“Oh yes miss” Winky nodded with a smile “Winky’s favourite task has always been gardening”

“Wonderful” Alex said.

“Well, Miss Black” Griphook said as he pulled out a small black box and passed it across the desk “everything has been finalised and you house elves have said they will transport you to your new home. This box has a direct connection to my own so should you ever need anything please don’t hesitate to get in touch”

Alex smiled a slightly sad smile as she realised this might be the last time she saw the goblin that had given her life back. “Live well Griphook” she said softly “May your gold always flow like the blood of your enemies”

“Live well Lady Black” Griphook smiled softly “It has been a pleasure to know you and I look forward to all future business together”

Standing she reached out her hand to her house elves and the trio vanished from the bank with a soft pop.

~*8*~

They appeared with a quiet pop, the house Griphook had bought was beautiful. A small bridge crossed a stream surrounded by a variety of different plant life and led up to the front of a small cabin. The cabin was beautifully lit up against the dimming sky, a veranda wrapped around the side of the house with a comfy looking hanging chair and a magnificent view of the setting sun over the crystal clear water and white sand that lay not a minute’s walk away. The entire building was like a giant tent made of wood with wispy white curtains covering the windows.

Entering through the wooden frame glass doors she saw that the entire house was almost completely open except for a small boxed off area on the far side of the ceiling. The bottom was split in half by an almost invisible line between the living room and the kitchen. Above the kitchen half of the room was a platform with a set of stairs leading up. On the platform was an open bedroom with a small enclosed section that contained a bathroom.

“We have set up the small space up there for us to sleep miss” Winky explained pointing out the small boxed off area “The kitchen is fully stocked so we’ll get working on something for you to eat right away while you have an explore”

“Are you both sure that’s enough space for the two of you?” Alex asked in concern, she had never actually asked where the house-elves slept before “You can both have your own proper bedrooms you know?”

“Oh no Alex” Dobby exclaimed “Me and Winky don’t mind sharing; it will only be used for us to sleep. The rest of the time we’s be working”

“Ok” Alex said unsurely “If you need more room let me know”

“Of course miss” Dobby nodded before shuffling with Winky over to the kitchen and getting to work.

Alex sighed and shook her head; she didn’t think she would ever fully understand House-elves. She took a deep breath and decided to go and have a look at her new room. She bound up the stairs and smiled her appreciation as she saw a large four poster bed set up against one side facing a pair of double doors that opened up to another beach view. A couple of chairs and a coffee table were set up so she could admire the view without the need to go anywhere. Deciding to take a quick peek inside the bathroom before going downstairs she smiled as she saw a cute little suite with both a shower cubicle and a deep bath.

Heading back downstairs she watched as her elves calmly went about making the food for a moment before she spoke “I’m going to eat outside and watch the rest of the sunset if you’d care to join me”

“That would be wonderful miss” Winky said with a smile as Dobby simply nodded “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes”

“Thank you” Alex said as she left the room and settled on the hanging chair to enjoy her first moment of freedom. A quick wave of her hand and a similar two-seater chair appeared next to her own so the elves had somewhere to sit when they joined her she sat back and relaxed determined to think about nothing and just enjoy the peace.

~*8*~

For the next week Alex simply enjoyed her new location and home. She had spent her time alternating between relaxing inside with a good book, sunbathing on the white sandy beach, swimming in the crystal clear Malibu Ocean and appreciating every sunrise and sunset she could. It had occurred to her during this time that there were a couple of thing she needed to sort out before she could start exploring this new country she called home.

When she started travelling she planned to spend a week minimum in each place (All 50 states plus Canada and Mexico) and then follow that with a week relaxing at home. While exploring everywhere she would also be looking for somewhere to set up a more permanent place to live. Malibu was a great place to get away but she was sure the heat would drive her mad eventually. In between her exploring she would use her time in Malibu to study the normal topics studied in the American education in order to pass her exams here. She would also use this time to naturalise and gain a proper American citizenship on the no-maj side of things.

Once she had completed those she also wanted to learn how to drive. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to be able to drive a car or a motorbike so she planned to learn for both then decide closer to the time. Although she was pretty sure she was going to end up with both.

Before all that though, she needed to sort a few things in both the magical and the no-maj world. Today she was going to handle the magical world, tomorrow she would handle the no-maj one and she would go from there. Getting up she enjoyed a quick shower before magically drying her hair into loose curls. She added some light make-up and changed into a flowing, knee length black dress with some black leggings underneath. She grabbed her grey tartan fold down army boots and her thick woollen cardigan for later.

Bouncing down the stairs she dropped her cardigan on the couch with her draw-string brown leather bag. The handbag in question was charmed to be feather light and bigger on the inside; it also had a separate little pocket that contained her multi-dimensional trunk. This she had decided to keep with her at all times just in case, the goblins had helped to calm her paranoia but they had helped her understand that because of what she had been through she may never fully relax her guard, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Heading out to the veranda she was joined a moment later by her elves who had also brought out breakfast for them all. The trio enjoyed the rising of the morning sun over the ocean as they ate and drank there simple breakfast of coffee and toasted bagels. It was becoming a bit of a tradition for the three of them to eat breakfast together while watching the sunrise; it was something she had every intention of continuing whenever possible. They weren’t just her elves; they were her friends, which was why over the last few weeks she had built each of them there own little space to enjoy however they wished.

For Winky she had created a little green house near her garden so she could grow her own selection of flowers and plants along with a little windowed hut on stilts after she had discovered Winky liked to paint. For Dobby she had created his own little workshop with several chests filled with different materials for him to create with. There was a chest for knitting, one for wood carving and one full of clay and paints for sculpting.

Both elves where surely but slowly getting used to the new and strange life they were living where they could do whatever they wanted. Needless to say both elves where ecstatic with the turn their lives had taken.

Finishing up her food she told her elves she would be out for the next few days and didn’t know what time she would be back. Heading inside she grabbed her drawstring bag and cardigan, saying a quick goodbye to the elves she apparated to the New York coordinates she had been given by Griphook to get her to the American Branch of Gringotts.

There were several Wizarding settlements throughout America but the main one was in New York City. This also held MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) which was disguised as the Woolworth building and the American Branch of Gringotts was known publically as the American Stock Exchange. Unlike Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade Village which only contained a few shops, the magical district of New York City had their shopping district set up like an American mall. The only way to get there was through the MACUSA building or Gringotts as it was located on a small warded island just off the coast.

The American Branch of Gringotts whilst disguised on the outside was almost identical to its British counterpart within. The only difference was that instead of the bright white marble of the British Gringotts, it was a glossy black, polished to the point that ghostly reflections walked beside you. Like their British counterparts all the visible Goblins were dressed in crisp black suits but she could already see the difference in the way these Goblins behaved. They were respected here, not looked down on, the mentality was shared so the Goblins seemed more open and approachable than there British brethren.

She took a moment to appreciate the atmosphere. Already there was an equality to be seen that would probably never be seen in Britain. It reminded her of the no-maj world, patient lines queued waiting for the next available teller. No snobby pureblood pushing past those they deem inferior, no angry Muggleborns who could do nothing, no sneering disgust at the tellers as they ordered without care. Everyone was equal, and it was wonderful.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts she joined the line and waited for her turn. Approaching the next available teller she said “Good morning, my name is Alexandra Black, I would like to request a meeting with my account manager, please”

“One moment please” the goblin said as he scanned the list of names written on the parchment in front of him with a single gnarled finger “Very well, miss Black, your account manager will be out shortly. You will be required to verify your identity before anything can be discussed as you have yet to be issued with a key” the goblin swiftly explained as the gate to the side of him slid open allowing her entrance. “Please proceed through the double door further down and take a seat. Account manager Zungar will be out to see you shortly”

“Thank you” Alex said as she passed the goblin and walked the little way down to the double doors indicated. Through the doors turned out to be a small waiting room containing some quite comfy looking chairs. Settling down into one of them she allowed her mind to wander while she waited.

After tomorrow she had nothing else planned. Once everything had been sorted in the no-maj world she had a couple of days to relax before she planned to set off and explore. One thing she definitely wanted to try was a girly pamper day, she wanted to get her hair done, try a manicure/pedicure, a facial, maybe a massage if she could get past the idea of strangers touching her skin, maybe a piercing or two and most definitely a tattoo. She needed to look into the best places to do it be magical, no-maj or a little of both.

Another thing she needed to do was find out where the magical districts were in each state she planned to visit during her tour. That would require a visit to MACUSA to get the necessary information.

Her name being called caught her attention. Her eyes focused on the very professional looking goblin stood before her. “Good morning miss Black” he greeted “My name is Account Manager Zungar, if you could please follow me we will head to my office” he introduced before turning and leading the way out of the room and down several corridors.

A short walk later and Zungar stopped outside a solid wood door which opened when he places his hand on it. He bowed slightly as he allowed her to enter first before the door closed quietly behind him. Zungar walked around the desk and sat at his chair as Alex took the seat in front of him.

“Now miss Black” Zungar started once they were both seated “First thing we need to do is verify your identity through a small sample of your blood and then we can get down to business”

“Ok” Alex nodded her agreement as Zungar pulled a piece of parchment and a dagger out of his desk drawer. Taking the dagger she pricked her thumb and allowed a single drop of blood to drop on the top left corner of the parchment and the result immediately began to appear.

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Black” Zungar said after examining the parchment for as moment “I have your Vault key right here all it requires is another drop of blood to activate and link it to your account”

After repeating the process with the small golden key Alex looked at Zungar and asked “What methods do you have for withdrawing money and making purchases within the American Magical World?”

“We have the standard draw-sting pouch you are offered at our British counterpart” Zungar said “But we also offer a service that is similar to a no-maj debit card which is usable in almost every shop within the United States. Would you like me to set these up for you while you are here today?”

“Yes Pease” Alex smile before carrying on “Other than that today I would like to set up our agreement together along with looking into some potential investments and a business that I would like you assistance with”

“Very well” Zungar agreed before he had her repeat the process with the key on a small purple pouch and a golden bank card that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the rich side of the no-maj world.

“Now, miss Black, Griphook has asked me to pass on a quick message” Zungar started wanting to get the more personal business out of the way before they could start to discuss the financial side “He wanted me to thank you for the additional payments you have been making to him to compensate his wages but it is no longer necessary as he has been officially promoted to the role of your account manager”

“Oh that’s great” Alex cheered slightly “He’s finally getting the role he deserves”

“Indeed” Zungar said with a small smile, it was nice to see a British witch happy for a goblin, he had been warned she wasn’t prejudice but he had been cautious just in case. “After swearing me to a vow of secrecy Griphook also revealed to me your original name so I could assist you to the best of my capabilities. He thought this would be necessary”

Alex took a deep breath, she would have preferred no one know her original identity but she trusted that Griphook knew what he was doing “Ok, did he also tell you the deal we had in regards to investments?” she asked curiously.

“No” Zungar said with a curious lift of his brow.

“Ok, basically in we already had a pretty good relationship but when I asked him to be my account manager I offered him 5% of the profits made from any successful investments” Alex explained swiftly “It was just a little extra incentive for him as a gift for his hard work and as he benefitted from it he kept a much closer eye on our investments. It is something I would like to work towards with you as well if that is acceptable”

“Miss Black, that is a wonderful strategy” Zungar said with a small smile “Before anything is signed I would just like to assure you that this is not a necessity”

“I know” Alex reassured with a smile “But for us to effectively work together this is something that will make the work we do beneficial to the both of us”

“Indeed it will” Zungar agreed “very well, I will get a contract written up for the agreement and may call you back into finalise everything”

“Ok” Alex nodded decisively “Now onto investments. I have some specific areas I want to invest in. Some of the names are sentimental to me so if there are alternatives that may be better I would like to know”

“Very well” Zungar said as he got a black piece of parchment ready with a dicta-quill ready to discuss how he could help this rather strange young woman.

“First Broom manufacturers. The first two brooms I ever owned was a Nimbus 2000 and a Firebolt these are the sentimental ones” Alex admitted a little sheepishly.

“Both companies continue to have a good standing so that won’t be a problem for the moment” Zungar reassured “I will keep an eye on that particular market for you for any up and coming companies that you may benefit from in the future”

“Thank you” Alex said her sheepish grin falling into a more genuine one “I promise none of the others are sentimental” gaining a smile from the goblin “I would like to invest in apothecaries and Wizarding equipment and gadgets stores”

“That is all doable Miss Black” Zungar stated as he glanced over the parchment making such everything was written “Is that everything for your investments?”

“Yes at the moment” Alex nodded before continuing “The next thing I wish to discuss is something that has always interested me and will feed into the last thing I wish to talk to you about as well”

“Of course” Zungar prompted.

“Ok I don’t really know how this side of Gringotts works but I would like to be able to fund some exploration teams” Alex said quite rushed “I will be travelling for the next few years and I would like to be able to create contracts with yourselves in order to explore anything I might find or fund anything your people might find as well”

“That will be do able, I think, Gringotts is always open to investors funding our exploration and dig sights” Zungar said with a small crease in his brow, he couldn’t quite see where this was going.

“The final thing on my list is the opening of a Book Shop” Alex started “I want this bookshop set up and run by people I either hire or have a share in the business. I want it to be a publishing place as well where people can come to, potentially, be published for the first time. As another aspect of this business I wasn’t to be able to set up a translation business as well. I have the ability to speak all languages due to a ritual I did in Britain but I am also a natural Parselmouth and I managed to find the Chamber of Secrets during my time at Hogwarts. In there was Salazar Slytherin’s Library which when I get around to translating may have some hidden secrets of the magical world I would like help looking into”

“I am sure I can sell that to our council miss Black” Zungar said enthused, showing the retired explorer within “It would be a humongous coup for Gringotts to help you achieve this”

“Thank you” Alex said with a smile “With these books if there are places to explore I will of course hold off but for the regular books, one of which I believe is his personal potions journal, I would like to be able to make a certain amount of translated copies to distribute to the public. Either through the shop or a private auction at Gringotts depending on the book”

“That would be excellent” Zungar said in his carefully neutral tone but a hint of excitement peeked through.

“The only other thing I was thinking of really was investing in some alcohol companies but I think I’ll wait until I’ve tried some of the different alcohols before I go into that” Alex said with a shrug.

“Very well miss Black” Zungar said “I have more than enough to be getting on with. For your bookshop idea there was a couple who were trying to get a loan in order to open a bookshop a few weeks ago but wouldn’t have been able to make the repayments shall I approach them on your behalf?”

“Yes” Alex said with a giant smile as she started to get up “Tell them at first I will be the majority owner but the option for them to gradually buy out half of the business is an offer that is open to them”

“Very well, Goodbye Miss Black. I look forward to doing more business with you” Zungar said as the young woman shrugged on the cardigan she had been carrying.

“See you later Zungar, if you need anything give me a shout” Alex said before pausing as something struck her “I have a box that is linked to another box in Griphook’s office, that’s how we communicate now, is there a way I can set up something similar with you?”

“I will try to arrange for a meeting with the Miller family who wanted the book shop the day after tomorrow if that is agreeable and I can have the contract and the communications box ready at that time” Zungar suggested.

“That’d be great” Alex said “I’ll have one of my house elves pop in tomorrow afternoon to find out what time you want me”

“Agreed” Zungar nodded and watched as the intriguing witch left his office. This was going to be interesting.

~*8*~

After leaving Gringotts the next thing she did was apparated to MACUSA, heading inside she went towards the tourist desk. Approaching the woman behind the desk she said “Hello, I’m after travelling around America for a bit as well as Canada and Mexico” Alex explained swiftly “Do you have anything containing the coordinates to the magical areas of each of the states and the others?”

The woman, expression not changing, handed over a small pamphlet of Canada and Mexico and a booklet on the USA. “Here is everything you need to enjoy and experience everything across Wizarding USA”

“Thank you” Alex said undeniable amused as she grabbed the offered paperwork and turned to leave. She headed over to the queue of people currently using the available floo network that would take her to the New York shopping district.

Other than exploring the area she didn’t really have anything she needed from here. She needed a basic wardrobe and wanted to look into the available alcohol but other than that she was just having a shopping day, enjoying for the first time simply being able to buy whatever she fancied.

At her turn she used the floo system, it was an interesting system, you had to floo in from the single one way floo system that was the only way into the shopping district. To get out you had to either apparated or use the available floo systems within the district that could only take you out. Neither option worked both ways.

She stepped out of the fireplace and took her first look around. It was almost more magical than Diagon Alley, if that were in any way possible. It held the majesty that most malls had but the obvious magic floating around not to mention the different creatures about made it impressive in a way Britain had never managed to achieve. The structure seemed to be a giant figure of eight with 4 floors that all intersected in the middle with a magically run cage elevator. The bottom floor consisted of mainly cafes and bars which caught her interest, the rest of them were full of everything a witch or wizard could need and probably a lot they didn’t.

This was going to be fun.

Since it was still early and she fancied something sweet she decided to head to a coffee shop for a coffee and piece of cake. Having a look through the booklet she had been given she decided to have a look at the section on New York City. Mainly it was about MACUSA, this shopping district she learned was called Trinkets and Tronkets and Gringotts. The only other area of note was a hidden section of night clubs and bars that she thought would be interesting to try. Finishing up she decided to take each floor a time.

~*8*~

Later that evening she settled down in, what was called a bar, although she called it a pub, for something to eat and drink before she was going to head home. She had gotten some simple robes that would do for whenever she needed to wear them, she much preferred muggle clothes, and some little gadgets that she had spotted along the way. She had found a shop full of different alcohols and had asked for one of each as she was still discovering where her preferences lay. Lastly she had a couple of books on the American Magical Law System which she discovered o be much stricter about exposure than the British and a couple of book on magical cocktails.

She was looking forward to some experimenting when she got home but she had to admit she did enjoy the white wine she was currently enjoying with dinner. Finishing up her food she went to the dessert store across the way and bought three desserts to enjoy at home with her elves before heading to the apparition point and going home.

“Hiya” she greeted as she walked through the front door “How’s your day been?”

“Wonderful miss” Winky said with a smile smudges of paint on her little face explaining more than anything what she’d been doing during the day “can Winky be getting you anything to eat?”

“No thank you” Alex said as she pulled out the bought desserts “But I have bought us all some dessert to enjoy with the sunset”

“That wonderful miss” Dobby cheered “Shall Dobby get yous anything to drink?”

“I have some alcohol stored in my bag if you could find one of the rose bottles of wine I will have a glass tonight I think” Alex decided with a smile “If there is anything you wish to try feel free”

Dobby bobbed his head and got to work while Winky shooed Alex out of the kitchen and set about plating the desserts she had bought. “Winky can be making desserts as well you know miss”

“I figured you could Winky and I will be delighted to try them as I have more than a little bit of a sweet tooth” Alex said reassuringly “However it doesn’t mean I won’t treat us all to a bought one every now and then. Though if you don’t like them don’t eat them”

Deciding against saying anything more they all migrated out to the veranda and enjoyed the extremely chocolaty dessert with a nice glass of wine and a beautiful view.

~*8*~

The next day Alex followed the same routine, this time she wore more professional attire, a pair of black skinny jeans, a white top and a blue blazer with a pair of dark tan ankle boots. She enjoyed her breakfast with her elves and asked Dobby to go to Zungar in Gringotts to find out the time her meeting was set for tomorrow later on this afternoon before saying goodbye and then she apparated to the Gringotts coordinates again. Zungar had told her the day before that the no-maj bank she was with was just down the road so she should be able to find it fairly easily.

He was right, it was easy to find mostly due to the massive lit up sign that adorned the building that seemed to be almost completely made of glass. Approaching one of the staff who was walking around she said “Hello, I am here to see my accountant. Henry Clifford” Alex said “Can you direct me to the right place?”

“No problem miss” the young woman said “If you just take a seat I will go and get him for you”

She couldn’t have been sat there for more than two minutes before a tall, slim gentleman with a pale face and a charming smile approached following the young woman. Alex could tell instantly this man was good at what he did and he knew it too. That smile would be enough to fool most people she was sure but not her, it was a smile worthy of a goblin. The intelligence and steel hidden within his dark eyes belayed the façade.

He approached with his hand extended ready to shake hers. “Good Morning Miss Black. My name is Henry Clifford, please call me Henry. I am the accountant assigned to your account, if you could please follow me through to my office we can begin”

They headed to an elevator and took it to the penultimate floor of the office building. The entire floor seemed to have been divided into four separate offices for the top accountants with the top floor for the CEO of the business.

“Now Miss Black” Henry started “I just need to confirm your identity with two forms of ID. Do you have those on you?”

Alex pulled a small booklet and folded piece of paper out of her bag along with her purse “I have my passport, the deed I signed for my current residence and a provisional license if those will do”

“Yes they will do perfectly” Henry said as he took the offered documents and set about scanning them for the records. Once he had finished he settled into his chair and said “Now miss Black, I was forewarned you wished to make some investments. Do you have anywhere specific in mind?”

“I must admit I don’t have anywhere specific in mind” Alex admitted “I just know what kind of company investments I am after. I would appreciate your input as I have very little knowledge of the best places especially in America”

“Very well. If you have the kinds of companies I will be able to research the appropriate investments” Henry said “A specific investment opportunity has become available as of a few hours ago but I will hold off until I learn what you are after”

“Ok, I am interested in car manufacturers and possibly motorbike ones as well” Alex started “I want long term investments if maybe two car manufacturers and at least one motorbike one. I would like shares in technology and science component companies. If there are any other companies you think can be beneficial to me as well I am pretty open to all of them”

“Very well” Henry nodded to himself “Currently there are shares available in three high end car manufacturers on sale; those are Audi, Aston Martin and Porsche. The lower end car manufacturers available are Ford or Volkswagen. These are by no means weak investments they are just more everyday cars. I suggest you do your own research and then you can confirm them with me if you want to go ahead. As for motorbike manufacturers there aren’t any currently but Kawasaki Motors are said to have some coming out soon”

“Ok I can look into those and get back to you” Alex said “Any ones for Technology you’d recommend?”

“Yes the shares that have become available today” Henry started “The Company is called Stark Industries. The only problem with this particular investment would be you’d need to make a quick decision as these shares always sell within the day they are announced”

“Ok” Alex nodded “Tell me what you can about them”

“The company was founded in 1940 by Howard Stark” Henry explained “It is a multi-Industrial company who pioneered different technology and their various uses. They have their hands in phones, computer, Artificial Intelligence, clean energy and also weapons for the military”

“Oh… I liked everything you said until the weapons part” Alex frowned, knowing what war was like made her entirely uncomfortable in funding weapons in order to fight them.

“I can understand that” Henry said but couldn’t help but encourage “The weapons part of it do give it a bit of a reputation but the other fields they encourage are extremely beneficial and to some outweigh the negative aspects”

“Yeah, I can see that” Alex admitted “Ok I will take the shares but I want an extra eye focused on the company if they start focusing more on the weapons I want out immediately”

“Of course” Henry said with a smile.

“Ok, I want other technology companies as well. Maybe smaller ones I only know of Samsung but I don’t know how good they are” Alex said “And some for electrical and engineering component parts”

“Samsung is a good one they have their hold in phones and computer as well as TVs and Kitchen appliances” Henry took note “Is there a specific area of technology you’re interested in?”

“Phone, computers, TV are the main ones then there add-ons like Speakers and DVD players etcetera” Alex said.

“No problem I will look into suitable companies for you and send you a list” Henry said.

“That’s all I can think of at the moment” Alex admitted.

“The only thing further is your credit card which I have here” he pulled the gold card from his desk drawer after searching for the correct name “You just need to sign it on the back and then it will be ready for any payments made or ATM’s used”

“Thank you for your time Henry” Alex said as she stood up with the man and got ready to leave “Please mail any information forward until I get a proper email set up to make thing easier and I will contact you soon with my contact number” she finished taking the offered business card with his direct number on it.

“No Problem miss Black” Henry said “A pleasure doing business with you. I will escort you downstairs and look forward to our future business together” Henry escorted Alex back downstairs before a final goodbye and she left to do her shopping.

~*8*~

It had been quite a fun time, considering Alex had never been clothes shopping before, she hadn’t known what to expect but she had thoroughly enjoyed herself and made quite the dent in her fortune. Well not really but still.

She had taken her own bigger on the inside shopping bag and after leaving the stores had discreetly placed the other bags inside. She had bought more clothes than she could probably ever wear and discovered she had a profound appreciation for shoes. She was going to enjoy organising them in the Wardrobe compartment of her trunk, probably as much as she enjoyed buying them all in the first place.

One of the main highlights of her day was the discovery of a small T-Shirt place that did printing as well. She knew she was going to take full advantage of that opportunity; she had lots of ideas for shirts that were guaranteed to amuse and annoy people in equal measure. She struck a deal with the owner of the shop that any T-Shirt ideas she brought in that he thought were extremely marketable he could mass produce them with her signature on them giving her creative license and a small income from the company.

The book shop also saw a good chunk of money as she bought all the books she would need to pass her no-maj exams along with quite a few others to bolster her knowledge of science, technology and engineering. She also indulged in quite a few fictions books she bought a pile of books from each genre from classics to science fiction. The only books she refused to ever buy where trashy romance books, she detested those books with a passion after having to put up with the swooning and giggling they induced from her dorm mates for her years at Hogwarts.

Once she finished with that she focused on what she would need for her research, she bought a selection of mobile phones from cheap older models and the newest releases. She also bought a separate Stark Phone for her own personal use and as an opportunity to see what the company was capable of. She did the same with Laptops and TV’s with one of each for her personal use.

The last thing she had done was a trip to a liquor store; she wanted to experience no-maj alcohol as well so she bought a large selection to try. They also had a couple of books there on mixing cocktails so she purchased them to help with her experiments. After a quick grocery shop she apparated home.

~*8*~

Returning home she greeted her elves with a bright smile, seeing the food already ready she dumped all her stuff on the couch to organise later and headed out to the veranda to enjoy the sunset. As they settled down for their meal Dobby piped up “Dobby retrieved the letter from Zungar for you miss”

“Thanks Dobby” Alex smiled at the happy elf “I’ll take a look at it later. Winky this food is delicious”

“Thank you miss” Winky blushed “Winky also made some dessert if yous be interested”

“Sounds good to me” Alex cheered with a grin making her elves laugh.

They all sat in comfortable silence as she indulged her sweet tooth, the trio just enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the magnificent view. “I’m going to grab a glass of wine and read that letter then I’m going to head into my trunk and organise my new clothes. So if you need me I’ll be in there”

“Dobby will get your wine and letter miss” Dobby said before quickly heading inside before she could stop him.

She barked a laugh before standing and saying “Enjoy your evening Winky”

“Thank you miss” Winky said beaming “Yous be calling Winky if yous be needing anything”

“Of course” Alex said as she headed inside, she grabbed her stuff and headed upstairs to see Dobby placing a folded piece of parchment and a full wine glass on her bedside table. “Thank you Dobby, go and enjoy your evening” seeing the elf opening his mouth she quickly prompted his demand “I will call for you if I need anything”

Dobby nodded with a wide smile before quietly popping away. Alex shook her head to herself, she really didn’t think she’d ever fully understand house elves but they were happy so that’s all that mattered. She pulled the trunk out of her handbag and leant the lid open at the base of her bed and dropped her shopping bag inside ready for her to sort. Grabbing the letter from the bedside table she opened it and began to read as she sipped her wine.

Zungar said he had explained her offer to the father and daughter who had wanted to open a book shop and they were very interested in her proposal. He had arranged for a meeting between them all at 10am the next day to flesh out everything she wanted from the business and discuss how they wanted to go about it.

Nodding to herself she called for Winky and asked her to make sure she was awake but 9am tomorrow as she had a meeting to attend. Receiving the affirmative she grabbed her wine and headed down into her trunk ready to enjoy her night of organising her newly acquired stuff.

~*8*~

The next day Alex arrived 10 minutes before the designated meeting time and was immediately guided to Zungar’s office. Inside sat a slightly older gentleman and a girl that appeared to be in her early 20s. “Ah, Welcome Miss Black” Zungar said as she walked into the room, the other pair stood up to greet her as well “Allow me to introduce Mr Reginald Miller and his daughter Candice”

They shook hand as Alex said “Lovely to meet you both, please call me Alex”

They all retook their seats before Zungar spoke again “Let’s get started then, now, as I have already briefly explained Miss Black came to me a few days ago with a potential idea for a business she wanted to set up. I recalled you both wanting to open a similar shop and that’s why I have arranged this meeting so we can flesh out the details and try to come to an arrangement that will benefit all sides”

“Yes, from the brief explanation you gave us it was certainly something that would be of interest to us” Mr Miller said with a kindly smile “Please call me Reg and my daughter normally goes by Candy”

“I’ll explain that shall I” Alex said with a grin “What I want is to set up a book shop that will essentially be completely run and controlled by you. At first I will obviously be the full owner but I am open to selling 50% of the shares to you as we go along so that we have a completely equal partnership” Seeing the intrigued look on their faces she smiled as she continued “You will be paid a wage of 3 Galleons an hour each to start with and as the business grows there will of course be increases and other bonuses as we go along depending on the success of the business”

Zungar spoke up briefly as he passed across some paperwork “Here I found a potential location for you to open your store, it is on the bottom floor of Trinkets and Tronkets near a small coffee shop which we have heard have a tendency to go well together in the No-Maj world”

Looking at the pictures it was an open space semi circle room with a counter set to one side. “This could be perfect, it could be arranged with the rows of shelves expanding outward from the middle which could be a small sitting area” Alex said getting nods of agreements from those in the room “Ok can you get that bought for me Zungar”

“Ok, so obviously you’ll get paid from day one if you accept I’ll just need you to create a log book for when you start and finish so I can arrange the payments with Zungar” Alex explained “It will be up to you how you set up the shop, I by no means actually know what I am talking about so you’re welcome to hire a couple of house-elves so you can try different layouts and see what you think works best”

“I think that would be an excellent idea my dear” Reg said “and it is safe to say both me and my daughter are very interested in this especially with the potential of us becoming partners”

“Zungar mentioned some extras you wanted connected to the business” Candy asked curiously.

“Yes, there are two things actually. The first is I want the store to be connected to a publishing firm. There aren’t enough in the world and I think it’s a shame that it’s so hard for people to get published. I want them to be able to publish fictional stories that as long as all three of us agree are worth it and any factual books will need to be proven with evidence before we will be willing to publish them. I don’t want it to be connected in any way with incorrect information”

“That sounds like a good idea” Candy said “Do you want the offices for that within the shop?”

“Not necessarily I am more than willing to buy a office elsewhere for that particular purpose along with my second addition” Alex explained “While I was in England I went through a ritual that helps me to understand all languages. I am naturally a Parselmouth which is what kick started the idea but I want us to be able to offer a translation service for people for a price as long as they are OK with me creating a copy of the translation for my own collection and then I want us to offer the potential of copies of the translation being offered in store with a percentage of sales going to the original owner of the book”

“That sounds fascinating my dear” Reg said enthusiastically not even flinching at the mention of the snake language “And something I will enthusiastically promote. The idea of all that hidden knowledge coming to light is something I will gleefully be a part of”

“Obviously the first priority is getting the shop up and running” Alex said “Once we have that going I will get an office sorted and we can start implementing the others. That’s pretty much everything I wanted to discuss really. During the process if you have any other ideas feel free to let me know and together we can see what we can do. I feel like I already know the answer but I’m going to ask anyway, are you interested in work with me?”

“Well, I most certainly am” Reg smiled in response, the gleam in his eyes showing his excitement.

“Me too” Candy agreed with a bright smile, her pleasure written across her face for the world to see.

“That’s great” Alex said as Zungar stood up catching their attention.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment I shall go and have the contracts written up and hopefully they can be signed off before you leave today so we can get the ball rolling” he said as he left the office.

Alex smiled at the pair next to her and said softly “I also have a favour to ask if you don’t mind. You see I need my family library updating and I was hoping that while you are setting up the shop if I provide you with a list, if you’d be willing to set aside one of each book I don’t own. I will of course be paying for the books and will pay you an extra 10 Galleons each a day for the help” she finished “That’s just the initial updating as we get in more stock I will give you a 20 Galleon bonus a month to help me keep it that way and search out rarer books for me which of course I will provide the funds for. I have a desire to see that my library ends up the best in the world but unfortunately don’t have the time to dedicate to doing it myself”

“Of course, that wouldn’t be an imposition while we are already organising the books” Reg agreed with a smile as his daughter nodded.

“Thank you” Alex said with a smile as Zungar re-entered his office.

“I have organised the purchase of the shop space and that will take a day or two to get organised” Zungar explained “I just need you to sign this for me Miss Black” Alex quickly read through and then signed with the offered blood quill “This one is for the purchase of two house-elves. They will belong to your name but will be assigned to the book shop” again she read and signed “This is the assigning of the account for the store which will be given a name once its been decided by you, all you need for this one is to assign a start up amount for the business and then sign it between you both”

Alex paused before signing “What’s a good amount for the business start off with? If you include some extra so they can search out rarer books for me?”

“Do you want to include the payment for the shop within this account or are you just going to pay for that outright?” Zungar enquired.

“The payment of the shop should come out of that account as well so that it is known to belong to the shop directly and not just me but I’ll just add that amount as well” Alex said.

“Very well, the cost of the shop in that location is 10395 Galleons 9 Sickles 4 Knuts” Zungar said.

“So, if we put the start up at say 30,000 Galleons into the start-up and I can always add more if it ends up being needed” Alex said.

“I think that is too much my dear” Reg interrupted “With you already guaranteed as our first customer with the updating of your library combined with us finding new ones for you as we do and you buying them we will potentially have an already steady stream of income from the get go. I’d set it at 22,000 Galleons that should cover stock, the purchase of the house-elves, the purchase of the store, the purchase of the furniture needed and the first few months worth of wages. It also means that when we are able to start buying half the business from you we won’t need to raise as much to be on equal footing”

“Ok, that sounds agreeable to me. What do you think Zungar?” Alex asked.

“I was going to recommend 23,000 but I don’t know the specifics for this particular revenue” Zungar explained simply “If it turns out to be inadequate an amount you can always add more but once the amount belongs to the business you wouldn’t be able to remove it”

“Ok, agreed, 22,000 Galleons it is” She said as she filled in the amount and signed with the blood quill.

“The last form is essentially the employment agreements for the millers” Zungar explained “The wage amounts agreed and employment rules set as standard. They are set for a probationary period of six months which we recommend so you can see how the arrangement will work. Once everything has passed that period we can call another meeting and set up a permanent contract with set conditions”

“Agreed” Reg nodded.

“What is standard when it comes to holiday entitlement and stuff?” Alex asked.

“It is 28 days of holiday entitlement due to it being a retail venture” Zungar explained “Retail outlets usually work over public holidays on reduced hour but that can be decided between you all later. Removal from the agreement requires 10 days notice to provide the time needed to hire other staff but I don’t really see that becoming an issue in this enterprise unless you decide to expand”

“Ok” Alex said “If you need any other time off just let me know and we can either close the shop for the day or I’ll look after it for the day. It might be a good idea for me to come in at some point and learn what to do with you both before that happens”

“An excellent idea” Reg said as he and his daughter happily signed the agreements.

“This great” Alex said “I’ll start the wages from whenever you want so if you decide you want the rest of the day to yourself and start looking at buying stock tomorrow or if you’re really eager we can start your wages from this afternoon. Just keep track of the hours you work until I can get a proper system set up for you in the shop”

“No problem my dear” Reg said before looking over at his daughter who looked a little sheepish “I will start from this afternoon with my daughter joining me tomorrow. I imagine she will have a strict 8am till 6pm day where as I might work longer days”

“Sounds good to me” Alex said with a smile, she was very happy with how this meeting had gone “Just think about some opening times and what days you’d want off as well. The shop doesn’t need to be open 7 days a week unless you want it too” turning to her account manager she said “Can you start looking into an office for us to use as well? Two individual offices, one for me and one for the Millers as well as a joint meeting room and a room for a printing press”

Zungar quickly wrote everything down and said “Of course, there are hidden offices near the MACUSA building so you’d be able to easily get from there to the store”

“That sounds perfect” Alex said “I think that’s everything we need to organise for now. If you need anything further I will set up a way for us to easily communicate within a few days but feel free to owl either myself or Zungar in the meantime”

They all stood up and the Millers said their goodbyes before leaving before Alex and Zungar sat back down to finish off. “Here is the communications box you requested Miss Black” Zungar said sliding a thin black box across the desk to her “I’m sure you know but it is policy to explain anyway. You have one part of the pair and you can put your letters in yours and it will appear in its counterpart that I have in my office and vice versa. The box once keyed to you will glow but only you will be able to see it if there is a message inside”

Alex used the dagger provided to allow a drop of blood onto the gem seal binding it to her before slipping it into her bag before her attention retuned to Zungar. They spent a further half hour finalising the contracted percentage for investment incentive they had discussed and signing off on the investments he had managed to set up so far. Saying their goodbyes she left to her next appointment.

~*8*~

Walking into MACUSA she went straight through to the shopping centre and headed for the tattoo parlour she had spotted on the second floor. Seeing no one there she spent a few minute looking around the room after ringing the bell on the desk. While she thought they were all very well done she knew she wanted something a bit more unique and just hoped they would be able to do tattoos you had created like they could in the muggle world.

A throat clearing behind her caught her attention, a young woman stood behind the desk reminded her heavily of Tonks in that moment with her bright bubble-gum pink hair “Hi, can I help you?”

“Hi, yes” Alex stumbled slightly in surprise “I was wondering if you did custom tattoos or is only your own designs?”

“We can do custom ones too” the woman said with a grin “Do you have anything in mind?”

Pulling out her sketch pad she showed the woman what she wanted “I want a total of three tattoos. I want a watercolour style Hogwarts badge done with the motto on my right ribcage” she said showing her the specific page “I want a ribbon with the writing ‘I solemnly Swear I am up to no good’ across the top of my shoulders with some different foot prints moving around it, specifically a pair of each human, a stag, a doe, a wolf and a big dog” she showed the page that contained her last two drawings “The last one I want on the base of my back and it’ll be the same style as the second one but with the quote Mischief managed”

“Those are all doable. I actually have the afternoon free if you wanted them done right away” the girl said looking quite enthusiastic about the designs.

“That would be great” Alex said “Do you happen to do piercings as well?” at her nod she continued “I would like to get two piercings on each lobe and a cuff piercing on my left helix”

“Sure, normally the price is based off how long it takes which is set at 8G an hour” the girl explained.

“I can give you 25G now if it goes over that amount I can get more don’t worry” Alex said handing over the coins.

“Actually miss I doubt the tattoos and piercings would take more than an hour, an hour and half max” the girl explained.

“Ok, keep the change in exchange for the healing potions for the aftercare and locking the door for the time so we don’t get disturbed” Alex bartered.

“No problem” the girl said “My names Lyla”

“Alex” she introduced as the girl went and locked the door before leading her through to the back.

Exactly an hour and 12 minutes later Alex walked out of the parlour with her new tattoos and piercings all fully healed. Lyla had tried to argue about giving her the change which would have been about 10G but she had argued back it was a tip for an excellent job and she wouldn’t take it back. Giving in she waved and told her to come back anytime.

Heading out she went to the floo point and headed back through MACUSA into No-Maj New York. Walking down the road she ducked into an alley and apparated to a hair and nail salon she had gotten a leaflet for the day before. She decided to only get her hair and nails done, she wanted to be able to talk about different styles that would suit her face and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. When she considered a massage and facial she later realised she didn’t feel comfortable being that exposed to a stranger nor was she comfortable with a stranger touching any part of her skin.

Walking in she approached the woman at the desk and asked if she had any appointments free for a cut and colour and also to go a manicure pedicure. “Yes we have an available slot for the hair in about half an hour and we can fit your nails in straight after. They’re usually walk ins”

“That’s great” Alex said “Can I ask your opinion? I have an idea for my hair which is only a partial dye but I need a second opinion before I go through with it” the hair dresser nodded and she continued “I was thinking of getting a sweeping fringe and leaving my hair my natural red at the bottom and having it Black at the roots fading down”

“That would work” the woman nodded “We would need to find a red colour that would match your natural hair so we can get the proper effect though so all your hair will still end up dyed. Also for your fringe it will be all just black cause there isn’t enough length for the fade effect”

“Cool, thank you can I have that done then and a simple French manicure pedicure” Alex said.

“Of course, the price will be $150 for the hair and $50 for the mani/pedi” she explained “You’ll pay on completion”

“OK” Alex said “I’ll go get the $200 now and get something to eat and I will see you in half an hour”

~*8*~

Four hours later Alex left the salon with her new hair and freshly done nails. It had been worth it; she got lots of ideas to try with her hair and nails and wouldn’t hopefully need to go again. It was fun but it took so long it didn’t seem worth it when she could just use her Metamorphmagus powers.

That night Alex decided to spend out on the town, she explored both magic and No-Maj bars and clubs to see what it was like. It came to no surprise that she preferred a quiet bar over the loudness of the club. Inevitably though she retreated to the quiet solitude of her home and relaxed with a quiet drink and her lovely house-elves.

Before she decided it wasn’t really her thing she had managed to try some different drinks that she would have trouble making at home. Some of the cocktails were nice but a lot of them were overly sweet, she liked wine and pale beers but found liquors too strong for her on their own and dark beers too bitter for her tastes.

She was going to relax for a few days then she was going to head out to explore her new home country. Her first stop would be New York and the surrounding States, as the largest magical community in the USA it would be a good idea to set up a home close by. She would need to look into the land nearby and see if there was anywhere she would consider making her home. Everything was coming together.

~*2 Years and 3 months Later*~

Alex spent the next two and a quarter years bouncing around the United States. She would travel to each of the fifty states along with Canada and Mexico and spend anywhere from three to ten days in each place followed by a week at home. For the first year she had spent that time at her Malibu beach house but during her initial trip to New York she had found a place to build her home and once it was completed she spent her breaks there.

Within the first two months she had stuck to New York and the surrounding states. Quite early on she had discovered a forest in the heart of Wisconsin called the black river forest and it was perfect for what she wanted. It was a beautiful pine tree forest that made the air smell delicious with several small lakes dotted throughout the area and lots of crisscrossing connected rivers and small streams.

At the side of one of the larger lakes was where she had decided to build her perfect home. She was going to have it designed to her specifications and she had contacted Zungar immediately for his help. He had immediately set about purchasing the majority of the land and getting her in touch with several architectural designers and building contractors to help her design and create her perfect house. The Goblins helped with the negotiations with several construction companies in order to get her the best price.

Her house once completed had six floors, two below ground and four above. The first basement level was split into two parts; the first part was an underground pool designed to look very cave like and lit up with a mix of purple, blue and green fairy lights and candles giving the room a certain atmosphere, the second part was a three space garage containing her two cars, an Astin Martin DB9 in quantum silver and a Jaguar XK convertible in dark purple, the third space held her motorbike, a jet black Kawasaki Ninja. The garage opened out to a ramp at the back of the house leading onto the road leading out of the forest.

The floor below was a heavily warded open place area, the only way into the floor was through a small access door hidden within the garage and was both magically and password protected. It was lined with tables and cabinets along with a small boxed off area which contained a small time dilation area. There were piles of Wizarding equipment around and cabinets full of ingredients and different magical components. There was a set station for the sterilisation of equipment, one set up for ingredient preparation and several stations with various styles of cauldrons for her experimentation and brewing. On the opposite side of the room was a table set with a laser inscriber, usually used for diamonds, and soldering iron for delicate inscriptions.

The main floor of the house at ground level was an open plan, rustic living room, kitchen and dining room with beautiful views in every direction from the lakes and surrounding forest. The amount of windows made the entire floor look open, bright and airy. Just outside the front door was a set of steps leading down to the lake with a hot tub part of the way down on the left, following the same direction to the other side of the house was an outside cooking area equipped with a barbeque and stone pizza oven, boxed off slightly by a seating area surrounding a fire pit.

On the other side of the front door was a small slightly separate cabin made specifically for her house elves. It had a small kitchenette and seating area along with a single bedroom as per the blushing house elves request. The cabin was situated near a garden that had been set up by Winky and a recreation of each of the elves little hobby huts from the Malibu house.

The first floor consisted of the master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, a not much smaller guest room and separate bathroom. The remaining two rooms were linked by a curtain partition, one half full of her ever growing collection of clothes and the other stocked with her collection of shoes and other accessories.

The next floor was very simply three guest bedrooms with simple ensuite bathrooms. She didn’t know why she wanted guest bathrooms when she had no intention of inviting anyone here but she had decided to have them just in case.

The third and final floor was open all the way to the roof. It was filled top to bottom with all her No-Maj books with a warded doorway behind one of the many book shelves that was the entrance to the circular tower that contained her magical library. To one end of the main room was a comfy seating area near a floor to ceiling window near an open fireplace, it had a faux-fur rug lay in front of it on the hard wood floor and several plush armchairs dotted around with little side tables.

During her time at either home she had studied and taken all her exams in the no-maj world, taken her driving test and gained her citizenship. It was within this time that she had started her project into combining magic and technology. She had managed with some of the older technology but it seemed the more sophisticated modern technology became the harder it was to combine with magic. This meant that unfortunately her project had hit a bit of a road block, she needed to learn more about current technology before she could make any further progress.

While she was waiting on that she had looked into a scientific theory that for the current level of science and engineering within the no-maj world was just not possible. However with some slight applications of magic it not only seemed viable option but more than likely an extremely successful endeavour. The perpetual motion generator was a worthy project in her mind; it would help her get even more off the grid than she already was.

~*8*~

It was early November when she received the annual invite, that she had missed for the last few years due to travelling. She had all her mail for the no-maj world sent to a post office box that she had set up in New York. She would go to check it approximately once a month and had the same set up in the magical world with either Winky or Dobby going to check it once a month.

Every year in late October/early November she would receive an invite from Stark Industries inviting her to the company’s New Years Banquet. She had always sent her belated apologies but maybe now would be the time to make an appearance. She could use the opportunity to find out the nuts and bolts of the company and maybe she could pick the brain of someone from the technology part of the company to get some ideas for her own projects.

That had led her to the here and now. It was the 31st December 2000 and she had booked herself into the Hilton hotel in Los Angeles for two days and one night. The hotel was only a short drive away from the main headquarters for Stark Industries where the banquet was being held.

Having decided to dress for the occasion. She had on a long sheer black and grey, one shoulder gown with a satin over the shoulder train draped elegantly down her back to her ankles with the dress going slightly lower until it touched the floor. Her black and red hair was artfully curled up into an elegant but slightly messy bun with stray curls dancing around her face. Her lips were painted deep red with her eyes done in a smoky purple style. Her nails were done in a black and red manicure that perfectly matched her platformed stiletto heels. She had just slid the final pin into her hair when the room’s phone rang from her bedside table.

“Hello” she answered swiftly.

“Hello Miss Black” the receptionist spoke “Your limo has arrived for the evening”

“Thank you” Alex said with an unseen smile “I will be right down” she said before replacing the receiver back on its hook.

Turning to face the room she grabbed her small black clutch bag from the bed, opened it to check she had everything she needed inside and headed for the door. She had decided to rent the limo for the night to indulge a little but also to provide her with an excuse later so she could leave at a reasonable time. As she left the hotel the driver exited the front of the limo and walked over to the back door to open it for her to get inside.

“Thank you” she said to the man politely as she stepped off the curb and prepared to step into the limo. She paused with one foot in the car and turned to the driver “Just so you know I will be leaving the party at exactly 1am. If you drop me a text once you get outside it will give me the excuse I need to escape. You however will be free for the rest of the night barring any emergencies but you’ll still be paid for the full evening. If they’re close by you are more than welcome to go and ring in the New Year with your family if you’d like”

“Thank you Miss” the driver said with a thankful smile “I will most definitely take you up on that offer”

“No problem” she said as she stepped into the car and shuffled into her seat. The driver quietly closed the door behind her before swiftly moving to the front of the car. Settling into the driver’s seat he started the limo and smoothly pulled out into the Los Angeles traffic. The drive was quite a short one, just a mere twenty five minutes later he pulled up to Stark Industries Headquarters. The driver remained seated as the Valet stepped forward to open her door.

Stepping out of the limo she stood on the sidewalk beside the valet and paused. She simply wanted to take a moment to admire the building in front of her. It was a majestic building, not necessarily to her taste as it was very modern, almost futuristic. It fit the company well and suited their company slogan ‘Changing the world for a better future’. Taking a deep breath she smiled at the valet as he closed the limo door behind her and retook his position to wait for the next arrival.

Walking up the steps she approached the entrance, which was very well lit despite the earlyish time. There was a tuxedo-wearing maître’d proudly stood behind the lectern. Beside him was a red and gold rope partition, behind, stationed with trays full of champagne flutes stood a diagonal line of several waitresses.

Approaching them quite quickly despite her heels she stood before the main person he welcomed her with swift precision. “Good evening madam, may I see your invitation”

Alex opened her clutch and retrieved the small embossed card that acted as an invitation and handed it over to the man. He scanned the card against his StarkPad and checked the information it provided. It probably wasn’t obvious to a lot of people but she saw the man take in the details of her face as if to compare it to an image he was seeing on his tablet. It was swift and discrete and she wholeheartedly approved.

Unclipping the red velvet rope he gave her a smile that would have made Mona Lisa proud. A waitress was quick to approach and with a slight bow offer her the tray of champagne for her to take a glass. She said quiet thanks before returning her attention to the maître’d.

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Black, if you could make your way straight forward into the banquet hall a seating chart is provided” he said with that same ambiguous smile as he hooked the rope back into place and retook his station with a final word “I hope you have a wonderful evening”

“Thank you” Alex said as she headed in the indicated direction “You as well”

Stepping through the set of double doors she checked her location on the display board before her and headed to her designated table. On the table settings there was a small sheet of paper with the night’s agenda artfully written. It was now twenty past five so she was about ten minutes earlier than the agenda indicated the start time would be. According to the writing there was to be a thirty minute grace period for guests to mingle before the food and presentations started at six o’clock sharp.

Taking a sip of her champagne she looked around the room, it was currently mostly empty, just another couple f early arrivals, a few waitresses straightening things up unnecessarily and a small group of technicians doing the final checks on all the equipment up on the stage. She suppressed a groan as she noticed that the majority of the early arrivals were all a lot older than her, they all had the same snooty attitude , their noses with all tilted skywards and they all wore an identical holier-than-thou expression on their faces. The rest of them were at least two decades younger than the first group but wore the same pompous expression on their faces.

The atmosphere once people started to notice her appearance was a familiar one, and she hated it.

Suddenly she once more felt like a muggleborn surrounded by pureblood elitists, it was horrible and something she thought she’d never have to experience again. She definitely didn’t like the predatory looks that appeared on some of the men’s faces when they took notice of her looks, her obvious wealth and the fact she appeared to be alone. The greed that sparked in their eyes and the scheming expressions that crossed their faces was most definitely disconcerting but was also something she was slightly more used to.

Hopefully they would be smart enough not to approach her tonight, she didn’t want to cause a scene but she would most definitely send them crying back to their mothers if the need arose.

Turning back to her table she sipped her champagne and decided to remain seated for the first part of the night. She didn’t want to provide or encourage any opportunities for them to approach her and make idiots of themselves and she was unsure if she could curb her tongue when the night hadn’t even started yet.

Unnoticed by Alex she had also caught the attention of another person who was the main attraction to the night’s events.

~*8*~

Anthony Edward ‘Tony’ Stark walked onto the stage rechecking all his equipment after the technicians had all left. It was a nervous habit more than desire to see if they had gotten anything wrong and often popped out whenever he was tasked with public speaking. He much preferred winging it but he knew he couldn’t do that here, it was too important to the company for him to be that careless. Making things up on the spot however came naturally and didn’t give him time to worry about what to say as he had often already said it. He was adjusting the microphone that was wired into the podium for the speeches when the sound of clacking heels was heard approaching him from behind.

Turning around he spotted the tall strawberry blonde women who he called both his Personal Assistant and his friends, Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts. Tugging uselessly on his jacket he unnecessarily tried to straighten it as he returned her smile uncomfortably. She was perhaps the only person who knew how much these kind of things bothered him and although there was nothing she could do to help she always tried.

“Everything is set and there is ten minutes till the majority of the people are due to arrive” Pepper said leadingly “The bar is open, why don’t you go get a drink to calm your nerves”

“Ok, that’s a good idea” Tony said with a nod of his head as he glanced around the room. Before he could take a step his gaze landed on a young red headed woman he had never seen before. His eyes flickered briefly around the room noting that he wasn’t the only one who was taking notice of her. “Hey Pepper, who is that?” Tony asked with a jerk of his chin in the girl’s direction.

Pepper smiled slightly, if there was one thing that could distract Tony Stark it was a pretty girl. She took note of the table the girl was sat at and consulted her StarkPad “That is Alexandra Black, she bought shares in Stark Industries a couple of years ago after recently moving to America and was looking for some investment opportunities for her family monies. This is the first event she has ever attended usually she just sends belated apologies”

“Where’d she move from?” Tony asked with limited curiosity. People who came from family money were usually pretty predictable and boring in his opinion but there was something different about this girl.

“She was raised in Surrey, England” Pepper said reading it of her tablet. All investors were required to pass a security check due to their government and military contracts, so they often had quite a bit of information on investors.

“Huh” he said pulling his gaze away and walking off the stage to the bar in the next room. He couldn’t help but keep part of his attention on the young woman in question who looked a combination of exasperated and frustrated as a few young men tried to talk at her despite her obvious annoyance.

~*8*~

Alex sighed with relief when a woman not much older than her stepped up to the podium on the stage and announced for everyone to take their seats as the night was about to start. Five minutes later everyone was finally seated and a swarm of waiters and waitresses descended on the banquet hall with their first course.

Closing her eyes Alex took a deep breath and tried to regain her calm by strengthening her Occlumency shields. She had the unfortunate luck to be seated next to one of the vultures she had spotted earlier and if this guy kept up his behaviour she was soon going to escalate from slapping wandering hands to outright punching him in the face as obviously the first reaction wasn’t getting the message across properly. She prayed to any deity that was willing to listen that the food and presentations would be enough to keep the man distracted but she honestly wasn’t holding out much hope.

She gave the waiter a small smile as he placed the small plate in front of her containing a prawn and smoked salmon salad. Gratefully she accepted the glass of white wine offered with their course by the second waitress immediately behind the first. She hummed to herself as she ate, she appreciated the fresh fish but she usually avoided salads as she had never really seen the appeal nor enjoyed the taste of a bunch of leaves on a plate.

Glancing around the room she smothered her giggles when she spotted a couple of the older stuck up women sipping their wine through pursed lips with their pinkies in the air as if in a salute to their superiority. It reminded her, rather unpleasantly, of her Aunt Petunia.

Her attention was called to the stage when an older bald man with a neatly trimmed beard approached the podium. “Hello everyone” he said with a charming smile fixed to his face “and welcome to the Annual Stark Industries New Years Banquet” he paused briefly for the polite applause before continuing “For those of you who don’t already know I am Obadiah Stane, business partner of Tony Stark and Stark Industries Second in Command. I am going to provide you with a brief overview of the agenda for the night followed by an introduction to Stark Industries for any new people in the room tonight. Next will be a video showing our past accomplishments and more notably contributions”

“Following my speech the fish course will be served followed by another video presentation of our current and ongoing projects. The main meal will be served preceding a talk from Tony Stark himself detailing the future progression of the company. Finally dessert will be served and the ball room will be opened where there is a well stocked bar and some light music so everyone can network and get to know each other better, ready to ring in the New Year” Stane paused once more for the obligatory applause before he started his speech.

As his speech progressed Alex’s frown deepened, the more Stane spoke about their work with the military to keep their country safe the more her instincts were telling her he was a liar. When he said he looked forward to the days where their weapons would no longer be needed she could tell it was an outright lie. Shaking her head slightly she looked away, it was the trouble with being a weapons manufacturer, if the wars stopped there would be no more need for the weapons they produced rendering the company unnecessary.

After his speech the lights dimmed and a small video began to play showing examples of some of the past accomplishments of Stark Industries. It showed Howard Stark and how he stated the company with his revolutionary weapons systems that assisted them in winning the Second World War. It showed his work on the Manhattan project and he cooperative work on Project rebirth that was fundamental in the creation of the super soldier serum and the evolution of Captain America. The video then switched to more modern times and explained that after the death of Howard Stark Stane took over until Tony turned twenty one and established himself as the head of Stark Industries into a new age, an age not just about weapons but making advancements with technology as well.

The video came to a close and the lights brightened again as the waiters once more descended and circulated the room in one smooth choreographed rotation. Old plates where removed and replaced with the fish course and new glasses of white wine were provided. The food was a delicious looking sea bass with a carrot purée and some lightly pickled vegetables.

As she sat enjoying the fish course she half wished she hadn’t set the limos return time for one in the morning. It was only just nearing quarter past seven and the food and presentations weren’t due to finish until nine. This meant she would have four hours to kill before her limo arrived to pick her up. She couldn’t really leave a New Years Eve party before they rang in the New Year at any rate without it being considered rude which meant without a suitable excuse to leave she was going to have to endure mingling with the other guests before that time came.

After everyone had finished Stane once more stood up and approached the podium and spoke to the room “I hope everyone enjoyed the fish course” he said and waited for he murmured agreements to settle before continuing “Now I would like to introduce a brief presentation about our current and ongoing projects”

He retook his seat and the room darkened once more as the video began to play. A deep voice told the story of the innovative advancements Stark Industries had made within the past year within the realm of communication. It showed the advancements they have made with the cell phones and the continued foray into computer technology including the newly release StarkPad for modern, mobile computer work. It was followed by a brief overview of the weapons designed and created for the government and finished with a Stark Industries promise for the future, with their advancements they were hopeful that they could bring the world into a new era of safety and communication.

The video ended and the lights once more brightened as the waiters returned with their main course. It was a beautifully cooked rack of lamb served with a celeriac mash and a fig post sauce with some seasonal greens.

Alex was quite delighted with the choice of meat; it would be her first taste of lamb that had been properly cooked. Her only other experience of the meat was during the Easter feasts at Hogwarts where they served over cooked legs of lamb for the masses. She had to admit she enjoyed it immensely. She enjoyed her main course with a rose wine she had requested in place of the offered red, she had discovered quite early on in her travels that she did have the taste buds required to enjoy red wine, she found the drink too bitter to enjoy especially with the red meat it was so often served with.

This time the dishes were cleared immediately as a small booklet was left in their place for the next part of the presentation. Finally it appeared to be time to hear from the man of the hour as a man she assumed was Tony Stark stood from the head table and approached the podium.

She had to admit he was nothing like she was expecting. She assumed he would be another of the peppy rich kids that half filled the room, with a highly intelligent team of geniuses behind him which kept the company on top. As he began to speak she found that this was not the case.

At the podium stood a suave young man, he was well dressed in a crisp tuxedo. His goatee was trimmed to perfection with his eyes partially hidden behind a pair of light purple sunglasses. His hair was styled into a messy quiff and he wore an easy smile on his face. She could tell he knew the effect he had on people and he enjoyed it thoroughly but she could also tell the façade was somewhat misleading to the truth of the man.

When he started to speak she could tell he knew what he was talking about. There was not stumbling or hesitation over the words, no hint of indecision when he spoke to answer questions or explain something further. He was the genius behind the companies continued success.

The only downside he could see was while he was undeniably attractive he also not only knew it but often used it to his advantage.

The start of the talk consisted of explanations on how Stark Industries were going to fulfil the military contracts they currently held. This included exclusive new body armour and missile targeting systems, as well as armour plating for their vehicles. He then went onto discuss the newest soon to be released StarkPhone with the introduction of video calls along with the newly release tablet computer and where they hope to progress with them. He then demonstrated the use of the holographic keypad and built in security system with fingerprint access.

Alex was undeniably impressed. The extent of his technological advancements was fascinating and she was very much looking forward to whatever they came up with in the future. She was still hugely put off by the weapons they had in production and she hated that to an extent she was currently profiting off the war efforts, she just wished there was a way for her to guarantee her money went in the direction of the technologies they were creating instead of the weapons.

Tony unfortunately chose that particular moment to switch to discussing the new missiles they had in production with advance heat seeking targeting systems and cascading damage feature. He finished his speech by saying Stark Industries would always be ready with weapons to fight for the freedom and peace of the American people and would do everything they could to stop the growing threat of Terrorism.

Alex was happy to feel his honest hope for a future without the need for his weapons.

As Tony retook his seat the waiters descended for the final time of the night and circulated the room with dessert. As the dessert was placed in front of her Alex internally squealed with delight, in front of her was a decadent looking layered chocolate mousse, with three varieties of chocolate each separated by a layer of sour cherry sauce.

If only it was a little bigger she thought to herself as she thoroughly scraped the sides of the glass with her spoon, it would definitely satisfy her sweet tooth then, as it was she was resisting the urge to ask for seconds.

~*8*~

Once she had practically licked the dessert glass clean Alex took one quick look around the room. Upon seeing the majority of the people were happily chatting away as they slowly ate their desserts she quickly left the room and entered the ballroom. She had hoped there would be somewhere in this room where she could settle herself in and avoid as many people as possible in a place like this.

To one side of the room was the bar with one end open and the other bending to a corner around a very well placed pillar, a pillar that partially hid two seats at the bar. As she sat in the seat closest to the wall she smiled when she noticed she could see most of the room from this position. As she settled into her seat and adjusted the length of her dress around herself the bartender came through the door behind the bar.

Noticing her immediately he approached and asked “Good evening miss, is there anything I can get for you?”

“Hi, what rose wines do you have? Any zinfandel?” Alex asked softly.

“Yes, shall I get you a glass?”

“You might as well leave me a bottle, I have no plans to move from my current position and don’t want to half to keep bothering you when the vultures inevitably descend” Alex explained when she saw the perplexed look on his face.

“No problem miss” he said with a suppressed smile as he went about collecting her a glass and put the bottle of wine in an ice bucket for her.

“Thank you” she said with a smile as she poured herself a glass and settled in for a few hours of people watching before she could politely leave.

As the rest of the guests entered the room along with a dozen waiters with trays of various nibbles. She watched as they all entered, she very nearly snorted as the parade of people seemed to give off an even worse impression than the one in front. It was almost like watching a pedigree dog show only it was old rich people determined to prove who had the biggest stick lodged firmly up there arses. It looked ridiculous.

She just really didn’t get that mentality. They weren’t appreciative of what they had, they just took it for granted that it was there and always would be. If they ever ended up losing all their money they wouldn’t know how to live without it, not in the real world.

She could admit she liked to indulge and enjoyed having the money she did but that came from having nothing. She had lived through so much at such a young age that now she had the chance too she wanted to enjoy a approximate facsimile of a childhood. A time without responsibility where she could do whatever she wanted just because she wanted too. She had vowed to herself that she would live her life to the fullest from now on; she wouldn’t go back to merely trying to survive. If she could work out a way to help someone along the way then great but she was going to have fun and not in a way that was reliant on her having money although that it would help.

However if the opportunity to irritate and annoy some rich fuddy duddys presented itself she would take it as a welcome element of pleasure that she would enjoy exploiting.

She had been relaxing at the bar for about an hour when the seat beside her was pulled out and someone sat down. She didn’t bother to look over; they’d either leave her alone or be dealt with appropriately.

In the last hour she had only left her position once. That had been for a very good purpose and probably the only kind of situation that would have garnered that reaction. A slightly chunky older woman had bumped into a young waitress causing her to drop a tray of nibbles that she had just finished offering to the group of people nearby. The woman, dismissive of her own fault in the situation turned and started to loudly berate the young girl while the others did nothing more that watch.

It wasn’t in her nature to sit on the sidelines when something like this was going on and she wasn’t about to start that particular trend. So she strode over and quickly put herself between the arrogant woman and the poor waitress that didn’t deserve to be shouted at. Staring straight at the woman with a look of pure loathing she sneered “I congratulate you madam on your voluptuous figure, but do try to keep it to yourself in future. It would be just awful if someone were to get hurt due to your own carelessness” she then immediately turned away from the woman dismissing her as insignificant and knelt down to help the waitress recover the fallen food.

“Thank you” the waitress aid with a tremulous smile.

“No problem sweetie” she returned with a smile “I love getting to insult idiots like that, they’re usually too stupid to realise they’ve been insulted the majority of the time. Which causes me a great deal of amusement” she flashed the girl a mischievous grin which grew a slight laugh from the girl as she relaxed slightly in response.

“Thanks” she said once more as they stood looking much more relaxed than she was a moment prior before they both stood and she returned the tray to the kitchen and Alex returned to her designated seat at the bar.

The person who had seated himself beside her didn’t say anything for a while and just watched her as he waited for the bartender’s attention to turn to him. As the man approached the unmistakable voice of Tony Stark said “Hey barkeep, scotch on the rocks”

Alex was still set to just ignore him, after all he may well have come over here for some peace and quiet away from all the clamouring investors all of who were desperate for a piece of him. She had heard quite a few people simpering at him throughout the night offering up their ideas even though each one sounded more ridiculous than the last. Not one of them was a realistic idea and seemed to come straight out of a science fiction novel. She had a feeling if it wasn’t for the strawberry blonde woman who had positioned herself near him at all times he might have said something far more entertaining than the polite dismissals he was currently offering.

“Hey, are you having a good time?” Tony asked with a hint of sarcasm that if you would have been easily missed. He couldn’t deny his interest in the girl he’d spent most of the night watching her and found himself genuinely intrigued. She obviously had money, she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t but he couldn’t seem to get a proper read on her other than her earlier reaction to the incident with the waitress.

Alex eyed the man for a moment before she decided to play with him a little “Is it that obvious?” Alex said in a slightly airy but petulant voice “I’d much rather be in Time Square like I had originally had planned but Daddy insisted I came here instead” she pouted obnoxiously at him all the while internally laughing at the grimace that flickered across his face once she had started to talk.

Tony tried really hard to keep the grimace off his face, honest he did, but he was already seriously regretting coming over here. He turned to stare across the bar as he responded politely “Oh, are you a dancer?”

“Oh no” she simpered hiding the smirk that tried to break free when she saw how uncomfortable he was getting, as she fluttered her eyelashes at him and continued in such a disgustingly simpering voice that she made herself cringe almost as much as his reaction to the voice amused her “I was just going to be one of the dancers in the crowd but I was hoping I would get caught on camera and get to be on TV”

Tony took a deep breath and briefly turned to face her as he said “Well I’m sure you’ll get there next year”

“Yeah” she said in a breathy sigh “I suppose but that’s sooo long away”

Clearing his throat he turned to look at her directly this time ready to make his excuses and leave when he spotted the spark in her eye. It was a spark he knew well from his own reflection and his lips started to twitch in response “Oh your good” he said as his lips spread into a smirk “You almost had me there”

“Given your reputation I thought it might be appropriate” Alex said in her normal voice her accent showing through fully as she laughed.

“Any other occasion most definitely but when I’m surrounded by investors Pepper makes sure I behave” he answered with a grin not at all bothered at being tricked.

“Pepper?” Alex questions before partially answering the question herself “the statuesque strawberry blonde that seemed to have been on guard all might?”

“Yes” Tony said laughing “I don’t think many people realise that’s what she’s doing though”

“Ah well” Alex said with a wave of her hand “The looks of pleading you send her way when one of the many arrogant sods get started on a particularly dense idea gave the game away I’m afraid”

“So you’ve been watching me huh?” Tony retorted with a smirk.

Returning the smirk she replied immediately and without hesitation “About as much as you’ve been watching me”

They locked each other in an intense stare that neither seemed willing to break, it took a couple of moments, but then Tony broke with a laugh and asked “So are you enjoying your hiding place?”

“I am” Alex said with a slightly smug smile “It saves the idiots in the room seeing as I currently don’t have someone to act as a leash”

“Ah” Tony hummed to himself as if he understood completely which he probably did “Fair enough”

“And besides I’m not exactly hiding” Alex said and continued before he could interrupt “If I was you would not have been able to find me”

“Maybe you only wanted to be found by me” Tony flirted.

“That was awful” Alex responded immediately shutting him down.

“I know but it was worth it” he replied with a unrepentant grin.

Alex laughed slightly as she grabbed her wine and took a sip.

“So what brought you to the states?” Tony asked.

“I needed a change of scenery” she answered softly.

“I’ve got to admit you’re a lot different than most people who come from family monies” Tony hinted.

Alex, never being one for subtlety answered simply and without hesitation “My parents died when I was a baby. I didn’t know anything about the money I had until I was nearly eighteen” _Three months before my eighteenth birthday in fact._

“Oh, sorry” Tony winced slightly fearing he might have offended her.

“It’s no problem” she shrugged not bothered in the slightest. It was hard to miss what you never had and she had come to a realisation during her time with the goblins. The sadness she felt upon the mention of her parents was more due to her mourning the childhood she could have had . It was after all impossible to miss people you had never known.

“So, how are you enjoying America so far?” Tony asked unsubtly changing the subject.

“I like it so far” she answered before elaborating a little “I’ve been travelling around the states since I got here and only just covered them all a few months ago. Just in time to receive your invitation in fact Mr Stark” Alex said with a smile.

“Cool, have you found a place to settle?” he said with a grin. He was surprised to find himself enjoying the conversation without the aspect of serious flirting going on “And call me Tony, Mr Stark makes me sound old”

“Alex” she offered simply, she figured since he knew she was from family money he probably knew her full name “I bought the majority of a forest in Wisconsin about two years ago and had my house built there whilst I was exploring. I also have a small beach house in Malibu which I bought before I arrived over here so I alternate depending on what weather I am in the mood for”

“I live in Malibu at the moment as well” Tony offered.

“I love it there don’t get me wrong but between living in England and then going to Boarding School in Scotland I’m just not used to that level of heat” Alex admitted sheepishly.

Tony laughed slightly even as he nodded “Yeah, I have an AI that keeps the temperature of my house regulated so I don’t need to worry about that unless I want to be able to feel it”

“How difficult was it to make your AI?” Alex asked with curiosity “For someone like me with only a basic knowledge of science and engineering, would it be doable?”

She would love to try and make an AI, but after witnessing the advancement to almost sentience that Mr Weasley’s car had gone through when exposed to the level of magic Hogwarts possessed it made her wary of trying to blend magic with such advance technology.

Maybe it would be something to consider in the future.

“With only that level of knowledge it would be impossible” Tony said firmly “You need advanced knowledge of computer programming and robotic based engineering”

“Ah Fair enough” Alex accepted with a shrug.

Tony watched her for a moment. He could admit he wanted to flirt with her, she was a beautiful and curvy woman and he was only a man after all, but despite that he was enjoying himself and he refused to ruin it. Besides he honestly didn’t think she would fall for his normal seduction tactics, she seemed smart though and had a mischievous quality that he enjoyed. If he was lucky maybe she would let him get to know her better.

“Not to bring down the mood or anything but I am curious” Tony said in warning before he asked “What made you decide to invest in Stark Industries?”

Alex looked at him for a moment debating whether to actually tell him the truth. It wasn’t in her nature to lie nor was it in her to pander to the oversensitive egos of others so in the end she did what she usually did and was completely honest to the point of too blunt “My accountant was very persuasive when I first came to America” Alex explained “Not long after I arrived your share went on sale and he convinced me it wasn’t an opportunity to be missed” she said enjoying the surprise that filled his eyes at her transparent honesty “I came here tonight for several reasons but mainly to see if it was an investment that I wanted to continue”

“Have you made a decision yet?” Tony couldn’t help but ask.

“No” she admitted with a frown “I love your research and development in technology but the weapons aspect puts me off. Combined with my account sending me word that the focus has started to shift more onto the weapons manufacturing” she shrugged showing her indecision.

“Military contracts are unfortunately getting more demanding at the moment” Tony admitted.

“I get that” she said with a frown “Threats are getting worse by the day and the military need weapons to combat that ever growing threat but it doesn’t make me comfortable to be funding their creation. The flip of that is your technology which is amazing and is going to change the world and I want to be able to say I was a part of helping you to achieve that” she finished with a frown.

Tony couldn’t help but admire her blunt honesty. He was so used to people blowing smoke that her blunt responses were a nice change of pace “I think we have contracts set out for that” Tony said with a frown.

“I did sign a contract to that effect but I don’t have any guarantee of that. No way to track where my money is going or being used within your company” Alex admitted her concern “I have bad past experiences that lead to me being slightly paranoid”

“If you want I can arrange for you to come and meet me at my home in Malibu next time you’re in the area and I can run a check for you” Tony offered for once without any ulterior motives. “If the money goes to the accounts Pepper looks after for me then it’s going to the right place for technology, Obie monitors the accounts for the weapons department. If it’s going to the wrong place I can change that and even backdate it for you so it’s always been going to where it should have”

“You don’t seem like the type to arrange meetings and look out for investors” Alex said with a smirk while she searched his face, she couldn’t ignore the little voice in the back of her mind wondering what was in it for him.

“Oh yeah” Tony smirked in return “What type of person do I seem like then?”

“The type to avoid them as much as possible unless there no alternative” Alex half stated half guessed.

“Ha, you’re not wrong” Tony admitted “I have never arranged to meet an investor before but I do make exceptions for people I like”

“Ah, so you didn’t come over here with the intention of trying to get me into bed” Alex teased with a smirk and a knowing glint in her eye. She watched delighted as he very obviously choked slightly on the sip of whiskey he’d just taken.

Clearing his throat he decided to answer honestly “I am not going to lie the idea did cross my mind especially after you dropped the air-head act” he admitted “I realised pretty quickly you weren’t that sort of girl but by then I was enjoying our conversation so I decided to stay anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever quite met a girl like you”

“At the risk of sounding completely cliché, there are no girls like me” Alex said with a cheeky grin “but thank you” she said graciously accepting the compliment for what it was. She bit her lip slightly in indecision, his offer seemed genuine and really there wasn’t a lot to lose. Reaching over she grabbed her clutch off the bar and she pulled out her cell phone before handing it over to him “I can’t remember the number so you can just add your own and send yourself a text or something”

“This phone is crap” he said with a wink as he took the two year old StarkPhone from her and did as requested. He enjoyed the crooked smile he got in return probably more than he should have. Once he finished he gave the phone back and she put it back into her bag.

“Thanks” she responded snarkily before expanding “I don’t use it for much so as long as it still works I don’t see the point of upgrading”

“Fair enough” Tony nodded, he didn’t know how he’d be if he didn’t just get the upgraded phones as they came into production as the owner of the company.

“And Tony, Thank you” she said earnestly, she continued at his enquiring look “For letting me fund just part of your company”

“No problem” Tony shrugged “normally I‘d say something pacifying about our weapons being needed to protect our country but I can tell that wouldn’t be appreciated”

“You are not wrong” Alex nodded with a slightly bitter smile “it would have resulted in me selling my shares immediately”

“Do you mind if I ask about your aversion to weapons” Tony asked cautiously.

Not willing nor able to go into her experiences with war and being used as a living weapon for Albus Dumbledore’s Greater good of the Wizarding World. She decided to go for a simpler but no less honest answer “In my opinion violence just creates more violence. Giving America bigger weapons just makes other countries create bigger weapons in order to be able to compete. In the end, it’s usually innocent people who pay the price. It’s a chaotic cycle of destruction”

“So it more the people in charge and those who control the weapons than the actual weapons themselves” Tony deduced looking quite surprised “I’ll admit I do enjoy making weapons more for seeing all the different things I can come up with and create than because they’re weapons. I’ve never fired one barring demonstrations though and lately government contracts have been getting more demanding which has been taking away a lot of my creativity with them. This company was originally built on weapons I don’t know if that will ever stop”

“Do you dislike the moniker the press have given you?” Alex asked bluntly “the merchant of death, it seemed to me that it should be your dads legacy seeing as you introduced the technology aspects to the company”

“Yeah I hate it” Tony admitted. He was quickly growing used to her bluntness, so much so that he didn’t even flinch at the question. He was honestly finding it rather charming and more than a little refreshing. There was no hidden agenda, just good old curiosity. No air, no graces, she was just unapologetically herself “Right now I’m helping to keep our country safe with the weapons I build so I keep going in order to help them as much as I can”

“Fair enough” she said accepting the answer. It was an entirely different scenario than what she went through and she knew due to those experiences she was more than a little biased “Maybe you should try and add some different projects under the Stark Industries Banner. Something to help you counteract the stigma”

“Like what?” Tony asked curious if she had some actual ideas or if she was just offering some sound advice.

“You could donate some of your older models of body armour to law enforcement in high risk areas” Alex mused mostly to herself “Or maybe create some self defence devices like tasers and pepper sprays for people to buy as protection. Maybe some kind of security systems for shops and places to use” she rambled on as a final idea struck her “Ooh or maybe something the police can use to knock out cars electrical systems”

“You actually have some pretty good ideas” Tony said with a smile as he made a mental list of her suggestions for him to consider another time “But over all I don’t really care about other people opinions of me”

“That’s fair enough and I’m the same in that regard” Alex admitted “but in doing stuff like that now means that in the future should you ever decide to stop doing weapons altogether people will be less likely to question your motives because it’s something that been coming all along”

“That’s actually a very good point” he said nodding his head in agreement “I’ll consider it, it might be a good sell considering Obie and the rest of the board goon about a future no needing weapons this will be putting their money where their mouth is scenario. It will also make it so we have a backup in place if for whatever reason weapons become obsolete”

He mused on that for a moment before deciding to change the subject “So moving on to happier things what kind of things are you interested in beside travelling?”

“I mainly travelled because I’d never had the opportunity to before combined with wanting to explore my new home country and find a location to settle down” Alex explained softly “I’ve still never been anywhere other than the UK, USA, Canada and Mexico so I’m thinking of enjoying two holidays a years in different Countries around the world would be a nice plan for the future”

Here she paused and considered how to answer him. No matter the temptation just to see and revel in his reaction she simply couldn’t admit to her main projects. Her imagination ran with it as she tried to imagine his reaction should she admit to a) trying to blend magic and technology and b) trying to find a way for no-majs to enjoy the benefits of magical healing without discovering what it was. She answered with a slight smile on her face “I want to set up facilities to benefit war veterans both in mind and body, to help them reacclimatise to their new situations and help the integrate back into society”

“Really” Tony asked perhaps sensing a deeper meaning behind her words.

“Yep, but that’s just my wider project” Alex explained “Closer to the now I am trying to build my own motorbike” _that will have the ability to fly_ she added on in her mind.

“Are you going for a standard combustion engine?” he asked.

“I’m going to start my research there” Alex said before explaining her wider project with the concept “I’m hoping to be able to create some kind of clean energy generator. Maybe something in the realms of kinetic energy before delving into nuclear fusion” seeing the look on his faces she spoke before he could ask any questions “I’m only just starting the research phase of this project so I don’t know a lot yet”

Tony nodded his understanding “I think I have something that might interest you. If you like I could invite you over in a few days to show you the energy source that powers this place. I think it could give you a alternate line of research for you to consider” tony explained before asking “Do you think you can pull it off?” he hoped she wouldn’t get offended by the blunt question as he hadn’t been.

“I don’t have any degrees or anything” she answered with a shrug “But I’ve always been a quick study so I’ll figure out what works for me” she finished with a smile showing no offence had been taken.

“If you want to run anything by me your welcome to drop me a text or a call and I’ll see if I can help” Tony offered.

“Thank you” Alex said “I may just take you up on that offer”

“May this be the start of a beautiful friendship” Tony said as he lifted his glass in cheers. Alex returned the gesture and they clinked their glasses together in agreement.

They ended up chatting long into the night only pausing from the discussions to ring in the New Years with the other guests. At one in the morning the driver texted to let her know he was outside. Surprisingly she found herself quite sad to leave. Tony Stark was nothing like she imagined and she had enjoyed her evening far more than she ever imagines she would. The remaining hours had been filled with sarcastic comments and witty remarks, they ahd run comedic commentary on some of the more amusing actions of the other guests. When it came time for her to go Tony walked her out to her car and they said their goodbyes. Both of them were left feeling like maybe, just maybe, they had found a true friend. Someone that wasn’t after something from them or was willing to betray them for a price. Just a nice genuine comraderie, from two completely different but similarly unique individuals.

**AN: Hope you enjoyed my new story. Please read and review. DarkRoseTales xo**


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